The Journal
by LadyDunla
Summary: After his parents' funeral Thoren, son of Thorin, comes across a leather-bound journal in their old rooms. As he opens it he finds himself facing their story: There and Never Back Again... Eventually Thorin/OC.
1. Chapter 1 Funeral

**Hello dear readers! **

**I had this idea for quite a while (ever since I went to the movie) and now my other story is finished, I decided to publish this one. I hope you'll like it.**

**Enjoy and please let me know what you think about it!**

**Oh, and of course I don't own The Hobbit, but since this is fanfiction, that is pretty obvious, isn't it?**

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_**The Journal**_

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"_She told him she'd rather fix her makeup_

_Than try to fix what's going on_

_But the problem keeps on calling_

_Even with the cell phone gone_

_She told him that she believes in living_

_Bigger than she's living now_

_But her world keeps spinning backwards_

_And upside-down" _

**Gone, Switchfoot**

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**Chapter 1**

**Funeral**

**Thoren**

The closing of Thorin's tomb sounded rather too loud to Thoren's ears. To him it made his father's passing all that more final and he had to swallow, hard, to get a grip on himself. He could not let his tears escape, not now. He was the new King under the Mountain; people expected him to be strong. And the same was more or less true for his younger siblings. Royalty did not cry, not in public at least.

But they didn't have an easy time either, he could tell. Thráin was staring right ahead, looking at a point in front of him without actually seeing it. Duria's face seemed to have turned to stone, as had Jack's. Cathy was the only one who didn't have enough control over herself not to shed tears. She was sobbing silently, trying her hardest not to give in to her grief, but failing spectacularly.

The guests were turning to leave, leaving the family to have a few final moments before they too would need to return to the Mountain. The setting sun was shining on the mountainside, where the tomb was situated. Some had deemed it a strange place for the King under the Mountain and his wife to be buried, but Thoren knew that this place had held some kind of meaning to his parents, although he had never been able to find out what that meaning was.

'It's not fair.' Cathy's voice was feeble, sounding like that of a young girl and not the grown woman that she was. 'He could have lived for decades still.'

He could have. Thorin wasn't that old, not for a dwarf anyway. But Thoren also knew that his father had not been happy for the last few months, not since the queen had died.

The new king still felt a stab of pain thinking about his mother. It had not been four months ago since they had been in this exact spot, making a campfire and spending the night singing and making fun. There had been stories and music, nothing to suggest that it would take less than a day to turn their joy to mourning.

So yes, of course they knew the queen was old. She belonged to the race of Men and everyone knew their lifespans were very short in comparison with the other races of Middle Earth. From time to time Thoren had seen his father look at his wife, worrying about how long they would still have together and, as their children, Thoren and his siblings had shared that concern.

But that night on the mountain there had only been joy and laughter. His mother had made it all too easy for them to overlook her high age. She was as lively and sharp as she had ever been and in truth, nobody had wanted to pay attention to what was right in front of them. And the queen did still attend the councils and did all her normal duties. So yes, she tired more easily than before and her eyesight wasn't what it once had been either, but everyone had conveniently ignored that.

There was no ignoring it the next morning, when they found the queen lying still in her bed. She looked like she could have been sleeping, but the lack of heartbeat and breath told them all something they neither wanted to know nor accept. Thoren hadn't seen his father smile since that day and maybe it wasn't that much of a surprise that he had followed his wife so soon after.

'He didn't want to live without her,' Thoren heard himself say, knowing it to be true.

Duria nodded. 'I know.' She put a comforting arm around her younger sister. 'At least they are together now, even if we have to learn to cope without them.'

Thoren agreed, as much as he hated the thought. The entire weight of the kingdom now rested on his shoulders and with something dark stirring in Mordor again, the burdens of responsibility would now be even heavier than they would have been otherwise. And he was still young for a dwarf, hardly considered an adult. How he wished his parents would still be here to guide him through this time.

But they weren't and it wouldn't do him any good to pretend otherwise. This was the situation and that was what they needed to deal with, but that didn't make the thought any easier to bear. And he was the son of Thorin Oakenshield. He could do this. So he forced himself to put on a brave face and face the few guests that had come for his father's funeral. He was glad that their number was so small. The danger on the roads had made sure not many foreign officials had risked the journey to Erebor to pay their last respects. Maybe he should have been mad about it, but as it was, he was only relieved.

He excused himself from the company fairly early in the evening, knowing his absence would hardly be noticed. Most dwarves had entered a drinking game in his father's memory and while Thoren used to think of this behaviour as amusing, now it only struck him as too enthusiastic, too loud and even inappropriate. He could all too easily recall his father's amused expression as he watched his subjects drink and his mother's mild disapproval at such abuse of alcoholic drinks.

That spoiled it all for him. He whispered his excuses to the people closest to him and slipped out of the hall. He could see Jack amongst the drinkers. His youngest brother was trying to drown his grief, and tomorrow he would discover that it wouldn't be that easy. Thoren had tried that remedy himself and found it to be failing. His other siblings were politely conversing with the guests, although Cathy had left early as well. No surprise there either. Jack's twin sister seemed to have more trouble controlling her grief than the others.

'Where are you going?'

Thoren was almost jumping, because he hadn't heard the other coming. 'Thráin,' he acknowledged his younger brother.

'Where are you going?' Thráin repeated. Only two years separated the two in age and they had always been close, sharing laughter as well as tears.

'Out of here,' Thoren replied in a hushed voice. 'I just can't face this, Thráin, not yet. I can see their faces everywhere I look.'

The younger dwarf's sad smile indicated that he wasn't alone in that. 'Then go,' he urged the new king. 'I'll cover for you.'

'I owe you,' Thoren vowed.

He left the hall, unnoticed by anyone else. Behind him the noise slowly faded away until he couldn't make out what caused it anymore. And for once, he couldn't care. He had slipped into a mood where he could care about very little anymore, too numb to even care about the cares of the kingdom and the evil that was now lurking in Mordor. It could all wait until tomorrow, or maybe the day after. Even that didn't really matter anymore.

His feet guided him to his parents' bedchamber. Soon it would be cleaned and cleared so that Thoren could take up residence there. It was the king's chamber, yet in Thoren's mind it would always belong to them, and never to him. It didn't help that their scents still hung in the air and that their things were still scattered all over the place. His father's favourite cloak was draped over the arm rest of the chair, his mother's books were still dotting every surface. Thorin must have left them, not wanting to remove all traces of her.

_I shouldn't be here_. This room still felt too intensely personal for anyone else except the owners to enter. Standing here, he felt like they could just walk in any moment, picking up a book from the table, or grabbing the cloak off the chair, after which life would continue as normal.

_But things are never going to go back to how they were and you had better get used to it, lad._ He half turned around, ready to leave, but the sight of a great leather-bound book on the very centre of the desk made him change his mind. He could have sworn he had never seen that before in his life and by now he was pretty familiar with all his mother's books.

He had been curious as a little boy and growing up hadn't changed that one bit. If anything, he was a bit more careful than he had been back them. But he was the king now and no one would reproach him for going through his parents' belongings anymore.

He moved a bit closer, now noticing other objects on the table as well. He recognised the strange looking book called _Chronicles of Narnia_, the book with fairy tales his mother had read to Thoren and his siblings when they were still small. The memory caused a faint smile to grace his features. The book was now old and worn. Next to it lay a small device that Thoren had seen with his mother often. She claimed there was music on it. Thoren of course had wanted to hear it all for himself and had been surprised to find she had told the truth. The small object had been an item of wonder ever since. Close to it lay his father's small dagger. He had once told he had carried it with him on the quest that had led to the reclaiming of Erebor and that very fact had made it a relic of ancient and heroic times to the younger Thoren's eyes.

Each object on the desk had obviously been carefully placed there. Thoren couldn't escape the notion that they told a story of their own for those who knew how to read it. He knew most things here. They all had belonged to either of his parents. There were some books, a small knife, a strange looking water bottle, a strip of leather, a dried flower, some maps, a precious stone on a necklace and a piece of parchment with a written note on it.

That last one caught his attention. The parchment was old and soft. It looked like it had been folded and unfolded more than once, but the letters on it were still perfectly readable, even if they had faded a little over time. The question of why his parents would keep such a small note for so long, made him look closer at it.

_Dear Miss Andrews,_

_The company _Magical Trips_ offers its sincerest apologies for the lack of your means of transport. We hope your inconvenience wasn't too great. We hope to see you soon._

_Yours truly,_

_Mr G. Grey_

The note provided him with more questions than answers. He had no idea who Miss Andrews was. He couldn't recall ever meeting someone with that name. The only thing that could link this note to them was the mention of G. Grey, who Thoren expected to be Gandalf. He knew the old wizard sometimes chose to go by Mr Grey whenever he didn't want to be recognised.

Somehow he felt all these things linked to the green leather-bound book that was still lying on the table, almost begging him to pick it up and read its contents. And Thoren was by now so curious he couldn't resist. He left the note and turned his attention to the book. The cover revealed nothing, so he opened it.

He found his mother's handwriting staring back at him. She had scribbled something in the far left corner: _Property of Catherine Sarah Andrews_. Catherine was his mother's name, Thoren knew that, although she preferred to go by Kate in daily life. Her name was unique in all of Middle Earth as far as he knew. But it was the surname that really struck him. Andrews, that was the same name that had been on the note. For reasons yet unknown to him, Gandalf had once sent her that note. He was trying to decide if this cleared things up or just made them even more complicated than they already were.

There seemed to be so many things about his mother that he couldn't even start to guess. Her life before the quest had always remained a mystery to him, he realised. In all his curiosity he had never even thought to ask her about that. He had always assumed his mother just originated from one of the villages of Men, leading a life that was both dull and uneventful. It was only now that he slowly started to understand that there had to be a whole lot more to her story.

His eyes drifted to the right page. The title was situated in the very middle of the page, written in his mother's neat handwriting, the writing she only used on official and documents: _There and Never Back Again_. It was like the title of an adventure story, the kind he had so enjoyed when he was small, and secretly still liked.

He hesitated only a moment before turning the page, overcome by curiosity and a desperate need to lose himself in something, _anything_ that could take the edge of the pain. The following pages were all filled with a mix of his mother's "official" script and his father's slightly larger writing:

_My dearest children…_

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**The real story starts next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it so far! **


	2. Chapter 2 Uprooted

**And here's the second chapter. From now on I'll upload once a week, on either Saturday or Sunday. Enjoy the chapter!**

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**Chapter 2**

**Uprooted**

_My dearest children,_

_I don't even need to ask you if you know about my adventures when I was younger. I know you do. You can probably recall the facts as well as I do, because you grew up with the stories of the quest, the retaking of Erebor and the legendary Battle of the Five Armies. You played it out when you were young and learned about it in your history lessons. _

_There is, however, always more to a story than just the facts and those details are not as well-known as some of you might think. And as the time passes, I keep wondering more and more if it is right that they should be forgotten, when they were so important to the story as a whole. So, right now I do have some time to myself and I finally decided to pick up a quill and tell the entire story to you, for you to read and determine what to do with it._

_My part in this particular adventure did not, as you have always been told, start with a coincidental meeting at a certain hobbit's house. In fact, it began quite unexpectedly a few hours earlier, in another world, when a woman in her early twenties was making a run to a rendezvous point…_

**Kate**

The afternoon was bright, not a cloud to be seen, when Kate Andrews sprinted down to the bus stop. She glanced at her watch, knowing it would still tell her she was running late, yet still hoping it would tell her something else.

But it was entirely her own fault. She should have known not to stay on the phone with her mother that long when there was still half a bag to be filled, a cat to be fed and plants to be watered before she needed to head out. But she had and now she was paying the price. Her legs were cramping and her lungs were burning, but Kate had no intention of slowing down. She would make it there in time, no matter what.

The bus stop came into sight and she exhaled in relief when she noted it was still blessedly abandoned. She wasn't so late that the bus would have left her behind, so she slowed down, allowing herself to catch her breath and change the green holdall she was carrying to her other hand.

The reason for this hurry was that she was finally, after months of planning, going on a hiking trip with a bunch of other people around her age, or so the brochure had claimed. It all had looked very promising and she definitely needed a holiday after all the chaos at work and so she had signed up without a second thought. Things became even better when she learned that the bus taking them to the starting point of the trip would pick her up five minutes away from her own home.

So, that was where she was headed now. Her watch still told her she was late, but apparently, so was the bus. Well, no surprise there really. The first bus to arrive on time she had yet to see.

Kate sat down on the small bench, glancing around her. This place was practically abandoned. It usually was. It was the kind of place you wouldn't want to come after dark, but, fortunately, it wasn't dark now. The sun was shining and, although a bit chilly, it was actually quite a nice day for early spring.

_You made it, girl_, she congratulated herself as she took a sip from her water bottle. Now all she needed was that stupid bus.

But it didn't come. The normal busses came and went, but not the one that she was waiting for and Kate started to feel a bit uneasy as more time passed and she still sat there, now practically frozen and growing angrier with every second. _If this was some kind of joke, then so help me God!_ she silently fumed. You heard it all the time on the news; unsuspecting people being deceived by clever "businessmen" who robbed said people of their money and then delivered nothing in return. It would seem that she had just fallen victim to them.

'Shit!' she cursed and not quite under her breath. But it didn't make any sense, not at all. She hadn't even paid yet. What was the point in this now? The logical answer would be that there was no point in this at all.

She was about to go back to her house, grab a cup of tea and think it all over. It had been almost two hours and her bus hadn't shown. She had swung her backpack over her shoulders again and taken up the holdall when she caught sight of some kind of letter in an envelope that she knew quite certain hadn't been there two minutes ago.

She blinked. No, she must have been mistaken. No one had been here in at least twenty minutes and letters didn't appear out of themselves. That was something reserved for the realm of fiction. Things like that didn't happen in the real world.

She shook her head and had half convinced herself that this was all some serious short-sightedness on her part, when she read the name on the envelope: Miss Kate Andrews.

There was probably no one on earth who could have ignored seeing their name on an envelope and Kate was no different than any other. 'What on earth…?' she muttered, swinging the holdall over her free shoulder and grabbing the letter with her now free hand. If that thing had been there all this time, she might just bang her head against the nearest wall with her own stupidity.

She slid the envelope open with her finger and pulled out the letter.

_Dear Miss Andrews,_

_The company _Magical Trips_ offers its sincerest apologies for the lack of your means of transport. We hope your inconvenience wasn't too great. We hope to see you soon._

_Yours truly,_

_Mr G. Grey_

_What a load of bullshit_. They just didn't show, for reasons beyond Kate's comprehension, but when it came down to it, it was as simple as that. And now it became painfully clear that she had actually no way of contacting _Magical Trips_ to find out what was going on here. She only had a post address which by now she was quite certain wouldn't exist when she would look it up.

'Shit!' she repeated, louder this time. She tried to bite back her disappointment, but found herself failing. She would be lying if she said she hadn't been looking forward to this. To realise now that it had all been another empty promise made her want to kick something or, better still, someone very hard, preferably somewhere where it hurt a lot. 'Sit, shit, _shit_!'

Well, there was nothing keeping her here now, she supposed, so she pulled herself together and turned to leave. But she was stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the letter, which she had thrown to the ground in anger, circling round in the wind.

But there wasn't any wind here, not as much as a breeze. There hadn't been all day and she didn't feel it now either. So what was making that piece of paper move?

She kind of wished later that she hadn't asked that question. If she had just walked away as she had planned, then nothing would have happened. That was what she told herself anyway. In hindsight, however, she wasn't sure it would have worked. In fact, after she had learned who the person responsible was, she was quite certain nothing could have stopped the following events from happening.

More and more objects started moving in the wind she could not feel and Kate found herself unable to move, just staring. Something about this gave her the feeling that this place was being haunted, if she had actually believed in those things.

_Okay, girl, time to get out of here. This is getting downright creepy_. That would be her common sense, but Kate often made a point of not listening to it.

But maybe she should have this time. Because now she started to feel the wind, becoming stronger by the second, up to a point it might be labelled a hurricane. By the time she had come to the conclusion that she really had to go now, she found she couldn't move.

_Bad idea, girl. Bad idea. _

The next moment the bus stop had vanished, as had the wind. Kate was about to exhale in relief when she realised that she was nowhere near home or that blasted bus stop now. In fact, she had no idea where she was. It was dark here, definitely night. A nearby house had a small lantern hanging outside, illuminating a bit of the otherwise dark street.

She blinked. That was not a house. Had she not known better, she would have thought it to be a hobbit-hole, taken straight out of the Lord of the Rings movies, placed here, wherever that was supposed to be.

_Okay, that's it_, she told herself with more bravado than she actually felt. _No more reading before bed. And you should probably_ _stop reading fanfiction as well._

But that wasn't the problem. This was real. And she had still not a clue as to what was happening here or how she had ended up in this place for that matter. It scared her that she didn't know a single thing anymore. The safest thing to say would be that she had fallen asleep on that bench and that she could wake up any moment now. That would be a reassuring thought, had she not been so sure that she had not been sleeping at all. And if she still had any doubts, her pinching her arm made it painfully clear that this was neither a dream nor a hallucination.

_What's happening?_ The panic was rising up, fighting to take over and if she would let it, it would reduce her to a snivelling wreck, incapable of doing anything that might just get her home again.

That thought was just enough for now to force it back and think about what she could do. Here she was in a what looked like a little village, with most of her luggage, including sandwiches, water and a sleeping bag. She had hardly any money on her at all and a quick glance at her mobile phone learned her that she didn't have a signal.

_Okay, what would my mother do?_ she asked herself. As it turned out, that was most often the way to deal with this kind of thing, because Kate's mum was probably the most sensible woman she had ever encountered. The only stupid thing she was ever known to do was marrying John Andrews. But that was the only blot on her copybook.

_She would knock on that door and ask where she was_. That would be common sense again.

That was actually the last thing she ever wanted to do. Knocking on the door of a hobbit-hole to ask for… what exactly? Directions? To where, the nearest inn?

_Well, it isn't like you have a lot of options_, common sense put in. Kate started to wish it would just shut up. Why would it be so bloody sensible all the time, especially when she wanted to do nothing more than throw a tantrum worthy of a three year old? _I just want to go home!_

The heroines in the fanfictions she secretly liked to read sometimes did always feel a little lost at first, but in the end they were always sort of happy to be in the supposedly fantasy world. _Screw fanfiction_, Kate thought angrily. _I bet the authors have never been here, otherwise they'd have their heroines fly off the handle as well._

The dilemma, however, remained. She was out on the street in God knows where with only a sleeping bag and an extra blanket to keep her warm. And she seriously doubted that would be enough. It felt like it was still winter here and she had no ambition whatsoever to freeze to death. _Knocking on the door doesn't sound so bad now, does it?_

And screw common sense as well. The annoying thing about it was that she didn't have much choice in the matter. Unless she wanted to remain here for the rest of the night, which she didn't, she could better get moving.

_There you go, girl_. She picked up the holdall and swung the backpack over her shoulder, forcing herself to walk over to the hole and give a few hard knocks on the green front door. She could hear a lot of noise coming from inside, like there was some kind of party going on. For a moment that made her doubt if anyone had even heard her, but then she could hear the door being unlocked. Thank goodness for that.

The door opened to reveal a small man with overly large feet. 'Good evening,' he said in a voice that suggested he wished her anything but a good evening. His face seemed familiar somehow.

'Good evening,' she replied, _knowing_ for a fact that it was anything but that. 'I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm afraid I lost my way. I was wondering if you could give me directions to the nearest inn?'

The hobbit, which she knew this was, seemed confused for a moment, but then his grumpy expression made way for one of compassion. 'Oh, do come in,' he invited her. 'The inn is quite a distance from here. You look frozen, miss. I am sure I can spare you a bit of food and a place by the fire.'

'If you're sure?' Because of his earlier obvious dislike it came out as a question.

'Yes, yes,' he said, sounding a bit impatient now. 'Come in, miss…?'

'Andrews,' she replied, stepping over the threshold into the comfortably warm house. Or hole. Whatever. 'Kate Andrews. Thank you so much for inviting me, Mr…?'

'Baggins,' the hobbit introduced himself, closing the door behind him. 'Bilbo Baggins, at your service.'

_Uh oh. Not happening. This is _not_ happening_. She had only been a good sixty years off the mark. This wasn't the Lord of the Rings she ended up in, it was The Hobbit. It was a good explanation for why her host looked so familiar. It was however not so good for convincing herself that she was just dreaming.

_But this just can't be happening. No way_. Maybe she shouldn't write off the whole dream theory just yet. But then, she had not been sleeping. She had been wide awake when she was spirited away to this place, wide awake and practically boiling over with frustration and disappointment. _Bloody bus, bloody books and bloody _Magical Trips.

That stopped her almost dead in her tracks. Magical Trips, the note being signed by a certain Mr G. Grey? She now wanted to bang her head against the wall for not having connected the dots earlier, even though it still made no sense whatsoever. Why would anyone want her here? She knew _she_ didn't want her here anyway.

'Pleasure to meet you,' Kate forced herself to say as she followed the storybook character through the hallway to the source of the noise. Because this wasn't a pleasure at all, more like a disaster.

They came into the kitchen, that was so full Kate had to supress the urge to make a run for a room with more breathing space. The place was not just crowded, it was cramped. The dwarves she all more or less recognised from the movies were sitting around the table, feasting, drinking, talking and laughing.

'Eh, look at that lass!' one of the dwarves yelled as he spotted her. 'Who are you then?'

'My name is Kate Andrews,' she introduced herself again. 'Pleasure to meet you all,' she added a second too late. All she wanted was to bolt for the door and get the hell out of here. She had never wanted to come here in the first place.

'Ah, Miss Andrews,' a man in the corner said. She hadn't spotted him before because he sat more or less in the shadows, but she knew who he was. How could she not? And, if she was right, he was also the one that brought her here. Gandalf the Grey. 'I'm so glad to see you could make it.'

Kate wasn't sure what she had expected, but this wasn't it. Her jaw dropped.

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Notes as found in a notebook belonging to one Catherine Sarah Andrews: _Stranded in Middle Earth of all places! Great, just great… Insert sarcasm here._

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**I would seriously love to hear what you think of the story so far. Love it, hate it? If you have a moment please review!**


	3. Chapter 3 First Impressions

**Hello dear readers, I know I said from now on I would update weekly, on either Saturday or Sunday. Well, this chapter was finished anyway and it so happens to be Saturday today, so there we are. **

**Enjoy the chapter and please let me know what you think. I can't improve the story without feedback, guys!**

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**Chapter 3**

**First Impressions**

_I can almost hear your laughter as you read this. You know me all very well, so it is needless to say that there have not been many occasions when I have been struck speechless. But let me assure you, I was then. I was absolutely stunned by surprise and a lot of anger as I watched that annoying wizard more or less tell me that he had been expecting me all along. The worst thing was that none of the dwarves seemed terribly surprised either, making me suspect that there was quite a lot more to this than just me dreaming or me accidentally being chosen to spend some time in my favourite fictive world. '_What_?!' I snarled…_

**Kate**

'_What_?!' Anyone who knew Kate knew that it was best to start searching for cover as soon as she started to speak in that particular tone. But these people didn't know her at all and none of them started to run for the hills.

'You know what you're here for, right?' one of them asked. Kate supposed he was Kíli, if the movie description got anything right. He answered his own question when she didn't. 'You're the omniscient one.'

That was just too much. 'I _beg_ your pardon?'

That at least made him a little less enthusiastic, if only a little. 'You are, aren't you?'

Kate's intuition sparked, her head swivelling in Gandalf's direction who made a point of being very interested in his food all of a sudden, which was confirmation in and out of itself. He was behind this somehow. Apart from the fact that no one else in the present company could have pulled off such an act of magical transportation, he was looking all too guilty, just by looking so bloody innocent.

'Can _someone_ tell me what the hell this is all about?' she exploded.

'Yes, that would be nice,' she could hear Bilbo mutter. Of course, he too was still in that awful state of not knowing what was happening to him, poor guy.

Gandalf pretended to be too preoccupied by his plate to hear her, so it was again Kíli that answered the question. 'Gandalf didn't tell you what you're here for?'

Controlling her temper had never been her strong point and she had been extremely tried today. Kíli had just asked one particular stupid question and that just pushed her over the edge. 'Very well spotted, Einstein,' she snapped at him, feeling slightly pleased that he had obviously no clue as to who Einstein was. 'Let me tell you what I _do_ know, though. Here I was, signing up for a two week hiking trip, waiting for the bus to pick me up. Guess what, the bus never showed. There was however this weird bloody letter that transported me to this place. And now I am being told… _what_ exactly?'

'Looks like someone has just been set up,' the other young dwarf muttered. Kate supposed he was Fíli and he sounded a bit too amused for all of this.

'Look, I don't know why you're calling me the omniscient one, because I'm not,' she started. How true that was. If anything, she had no idea what was happening to her anymore. 'I don't know why I am even here, but I sure as hell do not want to be here. All I want is to get home, to get on with my life while you lot do whatever it is that you came here to do.' She knew her voice had been rising with every word she spoke, but she couldn't care less at the moment. Because this was just beyond ridiculous. This was crazy, the stuff of fiction, and very bad fiction most of the time at that. How on earth (or was she supposed to say Middle Earth now?) had this happened to her?

'Just take a seat, lass,' the one she guessed was Balin offered. He was the first that didn't seem to think that this was all a very amusing joke. The elderly dwarf looked at her with something that might very well be called compassion. 'And drink something. You look like you have seen a ghost.'

His kindness made Kate smile hesitantly. 'No, just a bunch of storybook characters,' she muttered.

Now that peeked some interest. 'We're storybook characters?' Kíli yelled from the other side of the kitchen.

She immediately wished she had just kept her mouth shut. But there was no denying it now anymore. 'Yes. Where I come from at least.'

She might have been expecting insults, or shocked silence or anything at all, just not Kíli and Fíli's enthusiastic cheering. 'So you _are_ the omniscient one?'

A few dots connected in Kate's head. That was what this was all about? What was Gandalf playing at? Was he bringing her here so that she could do… what? To use her knowledge so that she could guide this company? But that was just insane! 'You… _what_?' She tried her hardest not to think about the fact that she had a copy of the actual novel stuffed somewhere in her backpack. But Gandalf couldn't have known that she would take the book with her, could he? It had been a last moment decision. She had only grabbed it off the coffee table mere seconds before leaving the house.

'You know the future,' he clarified.

'No, I don't,' she objected. Good grief, wasn't this all messed up? Why couldn't she just be home? Why of all people should she be here? 'Look, and I'm not even convinced yet that this isn't some crazy dream and I'm really hoping I'll wake up any moment now, because I don't want to be here and I certainly do not want to be an omniscient one. Gandalf, you're a wizard. Can't you just send me back and be done with it?'

Gandalf was still busy examining the contents of his plate. 'Oh, no,' he replied. 'Such a spell requires a lot of preparation and power. I couldn't possibly manage it for the next year, dear girl.'

Kate wasn't the only one who didn't buy a single word of that speech. 'You're making that up, aren't you?' one of the dwarves, whose name she could not possibly recall, demanded.

'Well, we did expect someone…' Yet another dwarf gave her a once over.

'Stronger?' his neighbour suggested.

'Taller?' a next one offered.

'Older?' Kíli put in.

'Wiser?' the fattest one, Bombur, suggested.

Her anger flared to life again. 'You're one to talk!' she shot back.

For some reason the dwarves seemed to take this not as an insult, but as the joke of the century. They all started laughing and somewhere in the middle of all their laughter it ended up in a food fight. Kate was torn between wanting to shout at them and laugh at the sheer stupidity of it all and in the end settled for just sitting there and just letting it wash all over her, too beaten down at the moment to do anything else. Some irrational part of her brain was hoping that if she just sat down and waited somehow it would all be all right. A smaller, yet wiser part of her brain, named common sense, told her it wouldn't be that easy. _Shut up_, she thought at it. Perhaps it was right, but she didn't feel like she could deal with that just now.

Some dwarves had actually started a kind of knife-fight with Bilbo's mother's knives and the hobbit looked close to breaking point. There was another one who was less than pleased with the way things were going at the moment. Poor fellow had no idea what Gandalf had gotten him into.

'Could you not do that?' he cried out. 'You'll blunt them!' Bilbo had a point, really. The dwarves were behaving like a bunch of naughty school boys, and extremely loud ones at that. All that noise, combined with everything that had already happened to her was causing a massive headache slowly building up behind her eyes, slowly spreading through her head. And it didn't really help that all those noisy dwarves suddenly burst out into song, making even more noise than they already did.

Balin was the only one not joining in the general madness, just sitting down and smoking his pipe as he ducked out of the way of flying dishes every now and then. He was singularly unimpressed, as if he had witnessed this more than once. Come to think of it, he might have.

'Just let them, lass,' he told Kate. 'You'll get used to it.'

Something about this particular dwarf made it almost impossible to get cross with him. 'But that's the point. I don't want to get used to this. I just want to be home.' _And I seriously need some painkillers for that headache_. 'I never wanted to come here in the first place. I mean, I always liked the stories, but in a book! I don't want to be dropped in the very bloody middle of it!'

It was only at the end of that speech that she realised that it had become awfully quiet in the tiny hobbit kitchen. Everyone was staring at her, making her wish the ground would just open and swallow her up.

'Excuse me, miss, but why is the story bloody?' a timid voice, belonging to Ori suddenly asked.

_Anyone else having this urge to bang their head against the wall? _Fortunately a few firm knocks on Bilbo's front door saved her from voicing that unkind thought. Instead a silence settled over the group and Kate had a fairly good idea why that was.

And indeed. 'He's here,' Gandalf announced.

**Thorin**

Thorin was cursing Gandalf again, not quite under his breath, as he once again realised that he had no idea where he actually was. He supposed the Shire was a beautiful place to be, but the hobbits did have villages that made it all too easy for a stranger to get lose his way. To tell the truth, he was completely lost and was seriously considering turning back to the inn he had seen fifteen minutes ago and wait for morning to come before he would attempt to find the house with Gandalf's mark on the door again. This was just ridiculous.

He was about to act on his wish to turn back when he heard a lot of noise coming from a hole just further down the road. There was laughing and shouting and then there was melody, or something that was probably meant to pass as melody.

The corners of his mouth curled up in mild amusement. _Definitely my men_. Hobbits weren't that loud. Now that he did have some directions, his destination was easy to find. It even turned out that he had unknowingly passed the hole several times already and had somehow completely missed out on the mark that glowed a soft blue on the front door.

He snorted and walked up to the front door, giving a few knocks on it. The noise on the inside died down instantly. Well, at least that meant that his arrival had not gone unnoticed.

The silence was followed by the sound of several people marching over towards the door and then the tall form of the wizard materialised as the front door opened.

'Gandalf,' he acknowledged, stepping in over the threshold. 'I thought you said this place would be easy to find.' Apparently they had different ideas about the definition of the word easy. 'I lost my way. Twice. I wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for the mark on the door.' _And the noise the company managed to produce_, he added dryly to himself, unclasping his cloak.

'Mark?' an unfamiliar voice demanded. 'What mark? There is no mark on that door! It was painted a week ago!' The hobbit who the hole belonged to marched into Thorin's line of sight, trying to spot said mark, but Gandalf wisely shut the door and leaned against it to prevent the small man from opening it and taking a look nonetheless.

Thorin measured him up, but failed to see what Gandalf had been so enthusiastic about. There was nothing about Mr Bilbo Baggins that indicated that he could fight, survive in the wild or be in any single way useful on this quest. A quick questioning confirmed those suspicions. The supposed burglar looked more like a grocer than a burglar and he stated as much. But at least Mr Baggins didn't back down. Neither did he seem to be afraid of Thorin at all. Well, he supposed that was something.

_What in Durin's name is Gandalf playing at?_ he wondered as he prepared to made to follow his companions to the hobbit's kitchen to discuss business. He also asked himself where the promised fifteenth member of the company was. The wizard had promised him a burglar and a so-called "omniscient one" whatever it was that he meant by that. When Thorin had asked about it the grey wizard had simply told him it was a "necessary asset to the quest" and he would see to it that this person "would find the way to Mr Baggins's house in time for the meeting".

'And where would be your omniscient one?' he inquired. 'You promised me another member for the company.'

'I'm afraid he was intending me to fill that position.'

Thorin swivelled around, coming face to face with a young woman leaning against the wall in the hall. For a moment he almost mistook her for another hobbit, because of the wild curly hair that seemed to be a particular hobbit trait. A second look learned him that she was of the race of Men, even though she was small for a human. She was a bit taller than most of the dwarves present, but still definitely human. She was too skinny to pass for a dwarf woman, and far less hairy.

'A woman?' It was impossible to hide his surprise and near despair at the wizard's newest plan. It made him wonder why he had involved Gandalf in this in the first place.

She grimaced. 'Don't worry,' she snorted. 'I'm not exactly doing a happy dance around the room myself either.' This declaration was followed by a glare sent in Gandalf's direction. 'I'm Kate Andrews by the way.'

He didn't bother to introduce himself. Gandalf had taken care of that part already and he had more important business to concern himself with, like finding out how this tiny thing would be fit to join his company. She was skinny enough to get blown away in the gentlest breeze, not a bit of muscle on her. Miss Andrews clearly wasn't the fighting type, although Thorin had to admit she did have some spirit. It burned in her eyes clear as daylight.

'Tell me, Miss Andrews, how much do you know about fighting?' he asked of her.

Before that question she had given every impression of wanting to get out of here as fast as she possibly could, but something in his voice, or his question, made her look at him in anger and defiance. 'I don't suppose my magnificent right hook counts for anything in your royal opinion?' She huffed. 'But I wasn't brought here to fight now, was I? Your great wizard friend wants me to give you advice on what to do and don't on this quest, doesn't he? Fighting skills were obviously not that high on his bloody list, but I do know how to fend for myself in the wilderness, if that counts for something.'

It didn't take long for Thorin to find out that this girl, correction _woman_, had a serious temper and no love whatsoever of the grey wizard. Taken into account that the hobbit had apparently been coerced into this, it should not have been a surprise that the fifteenth member had also fallen victim to Gandalf's scheming, and was less than happy about it.

'I'm not taking a woman with me,' he told both Gandalf and Kate.

'Great,' she said. 'I second that. And now that we've established that I am not going anywhere with the present company, can you please send me back home?' The words came out with conviction and a lot of irritation, but there was a begging tone underneath the bravado. He could not escape the notice that this woman was even less willing to be on this quest than he was to have her.

'Oh, I can't,' Gandalf protested, hiding behind the smoke from his pipe. 'These things take time, lots of time. And I am sure Miss Andrews has a lot to add to this quest. Who knows, she might even surprise herself.'

'Does anyone else in this room feel the urge to hit him?' To Thorin's surprise these words came out of Kate's mouth. 'Listen up, guys, I. Don't. Want. To. Do. This. All I want is to go home. I'm not made for this world and you people aren't exactly anxious to have me around either.' She looked positively miserable. He had suffered from headaches often enough to know that she was having one. Her eyes were narrowed to prevent too much light from coming in, she looked slightly unbalanced and was paler than was healthy. He had no idea what Gandalf had done to her, but by the looks of it, it hadn't been pleasant.

'You must trust me on this,' Gandalf insisted. 'Your knowledge could come in quite handy.'

'Then you should have gotten yourself a copy of that bloody book!' Kate snapped. 'You don't need me to read it to you.'

'Book? What book?' The dwarf prince looked from one to the other.

Kate took it upon herself to answer. 'The storybook from my world, describing your quest to reclaim Erebor from the dragon Smaug.'

She couldn't have known this, not unless someone in this company had not been so discreet as he should have been. Knowing his nephews, it was all too easy to guess who would have been responsible for blurting out the goal of the quest.

'No one told me,' she announced as he looked over to the youngest dwarves. 'Like I said, that's the kind of thing that's written inside that book.'

His interest was sparked now. Maybe she could be of use. 'And what else does that book tell you?'

'You're in for a lot of trouble,' Kate replied. 'Goblins, Wargs, Trolls and even a massive battle.' She started listing it all on her fingers. 'If I recall right there were some problems with elves and giant spiders, before some of you die an unpleasant and untimely death on the battlefield.'

_She's making that up_. There couldn't possibly that many dangers on the road ahead. 'You're lying.'

'Am I now?' She looked like she was on the verge of collapse. 'You know what, I don't even care. You don't want to believe me? That's fine with me. You deal with it all on your own, Mr High and Mighty.' She stormed off, threw open the door and stalked outside. The door slammed shut behind her.

* * *

From Kate's notebook: _First impressions of Middle Earth: Gandalf is a scheming bastard, Thorin Oakenshield an arrogant royal prat, accompanied by a bunch of school boys. How on earth did I ever think this group could be heroic? And whoever described Thorin as dark and mysterious had clearly way too much to drink._

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**That's it for today. This time you'll really have to wait till next week. I mean it this time. Anyway, loved it, hated it? Let me know, please. I'm also considering adding more POVs. Is there one in particular you'd like to see?**

**Princess Kassie, I'd love to respond to your reviews by PM, but since I can't, I really wanted to thank you for those lovely reviews. I'm glad you love my stories that much. And of course I really would like to thank those of you that followed and I've got one favourite already. Thanks so much!**


	4. Chapter 4 Night-time Conversations

**Hello, dear readers. Here's the new chapter for you. And wow, 8 alerts and 2 favourites already! Thanks for that. And please keep the reviews coming. They mean the world!**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 4**

**Night-time Conversations**

_Not what you expected, is it, my dears? I know there aren't many tales of how I ended up with this company in the first place and I know there are even less people still alive today who remember I was not born and raised in Middle Earth. I'm not even sure that all my future companions were fully aware of that fact yet._

_Anyway, that was my first night in a world that I had considered to be only existing in books until then. I think it would be an understatement to say that I was feeling absolutely miserable as I curled up on Bilbo's garden bench…_

**Kate**

The fresh air did a lot to help Kate clear her thoughts, enough to make her realise that storming out of the house might not have been the best thing to do. First there was the small problem with having nowhere to go. It had become increasingly clear that Gandalf was not in a hurry to send her back, not until she had done what he had brought her here to do. And she had no ambition to join a dangerous quest. So yes, she could survive in the wild. Her parents' love of long hiking trips in the middle of nowhere had made sure of that. But she couldn't handle a weapon to save her life and that would be a skill she needed to have on such a perilous journey.

But the question remained: where else could she go? She had hardly any money on her and she seriously doubted her world's money would be worth anything around here. She was completely dependent on her host's good graces and he would surely leave in the morning. _What a freaking mess_.

'Are you all right, lass?'

She should probably not have been surprised that it was Balin who followed her out in the end. The kind elderly dwarf was something of a father figure, she supposed, or a gentle uncle, worrying about all the younger members of the company.

_But I'm not a member, am I?_ 'I'm fine,' she lied. _I just want to be left alone_. 'I just needed some breathing space.' At least the fresh air seemed to be helping with the headache. Her brains didn't feel like they were twisted in tight knots anymore at the very least. The pain had now faded into a dull throbbing in the back of her head, and she could more or less ignore it, even if she did feel incredibly tired.

Balin patted her shoulder and then placed himself next to her on the bench. No intention of leaving, that one. 'You've been out for hours,' he told her. 'And you left your coat inside.'

He handed her said coat and she accepted it with a silent nod of thanks, wrapping it around herself. She had been too lost in thought to take much notice of it before, but it was still chilly here.

'Do you want to talk about it?' the old warrior asked.

Kate just curled up further and wrapped her arms around her knees. 'No, I think I pretty much vented it all.' _Right in Thorin's arrogant face_. She shrugged. 'It's just pointless, me being here. I mean, I know I sound selfish, but I just want to be home.'

'So do we,' Balin pointed out.

'But at least you can go home, can't you?' she shot back. 'You have a choice whether to go back or not. I don't have that anymore, thanks to that bloody wizard.' There was a short silence for a moment. 'I just don't belong here, Balin. This entire world feels so alien to me. Even the very air feels strange.' She had the strange sensation of being uprooted and planted into an environment where she couldn't live anymore. There was no sense of belonging here. There was just the longing to be anywhere but here.

The dwarf patted her knee, the closest thing he could reach. 'It won't do you much good to sit here complaining about how unfair it all is, lass.'

'No, I'll save that rant for Gandalf,' she muttered. How on earth had her life taken such a turn in such a short time? By now she had convinced herself that this was not a dream, that this was happening to her and that she had to deal with it. What a very reassuring thought.

'Here, got you something.' Balin handed her a piece of folded paper. 'The contract,' he explained when she shot it and him a confused look.

'I see.' And she did. 'I take it there is something in this that deals with funeral arrangements, incineration and so forth?' She let the contract fall on her lap. 'Don't you think this is a little presumptuous?'

'Gandalf chose you to be the fifteenth member of the company.' That sentence was spoken as if it was an explanation in and out of itself.

'He may have chosen me, but I didn't.' Why did that dwarf have to make so much sense, when all she wanted to do was to just fade away into unconsciousness and hope that things would look better in the morning, a whole lot better. 'Balin, I am sorry, but I hardly think I'm made to run off on a quest to retake a mountain from a dragon. I can't fight, not at all.'

Balin just smiled. 'How about your magnificent right hook?'

'Ever seen a right hook knock out an orc, or a dragon for that matter?' When he remained silent, she answered her own question. 'Thought not.'

'Gandalf has his own reasons to do as he does, lassie. It will take time for us to learn to understand. In the meantime, you are here. Take a look at that contract.'

She rolled her eyes, but did as he asked. She had done too much fighting for one day and she didn't think she could summon up the energy for yet another one. The light of the lantern provided just enough light for her to read by. The letters were slightly different here than she was used to, and so was the choice of words, but with some difficulty, it was readable. It contained much of what she already knew to be there.

'You'll be rich when you return home,' Bali told her as he noticed she had come to the part on sharing the treasure.

Kate snorted. 'Would that be _when_ or _if_?' she asked sarcastically. 'And what does it matter anyway? I don't have a choice in this, do I? I don't have any money, or at least not the kind I can pay with around here, I do not have anywhere to go. The only option I have is to go with you lot.' And what an unwelcome conclusion that was. But it was also a realistic one. The best she could hope for now was to go with these dwarves and keep herself and therefore them out of trouble best she could. Maybe she could convince Gandalf to send her back sometime in the future, but she wouldn't get her hopes up. If the real Gandalf was anything like the Gandalf she had come to know from the books and movies, he was not going to give up on his plans so easily. Old, troublesome, meddling wizard!

'Aye, lass.' Balin seemed wholly unimpressed. By the looks of things he had done business with the wizard before.

'I can't make promises, you know,' Kate warned him. 'It's right, I do know the book.' _Inside out_. 'But that doesn't mean I will be a good addition to your company.'

She dug up a pen from the pocket of her trousers and signed the contract. _Please, make that I am not going to regret doing this sometime in the future._ But she knew she was. Sooner rather than later something was going to happen that would make her curse the fact that she had ever considered signing this. But then, what alternative did she have? There were none.

'Ah, but you'll try, won't you?'

She watched as the dwarf stood up and made his way back to the hole. 'Yes, I will,' she whispered at his retreating back.

**Thorin**

Thorin had told himself not to get his hopes up and he had been right to do so. He had no idea what had possessed Gandalf when he had selected Bilbo Baggins as a burglar, but he strongly suspected common sense had very little to do with it. The hobbit had fainted at hearing when he learned what was expected of him and Gandalf's talking to him didn't seem to have changed his mind. By then, Thorin wasn't even sure he wanted the hobbit in the company anyway. He wasn't sure if he'd ever encountered a person that was as ill-equipped to wander the wilderness as Mr Baggins. They would need to find themselves another burglar on the way, he supposed.

The same was true for the young human woman Gandalf had enlisted to guide them. The wizard had, reluctantly, admitted that Kate Andrews didn't even originate from this world. He had brought her to Middle Earth by means of magic. That would account for the panic that he had seen in her eyes.

What had Gandalf been thinking? The question repeated itself like a mantra in his head. True, Miss Andrews looked like someone who could look after her own, but she was no fighter. She had admitted it herself. And she clearly didn't want to be here.

_And she's a liar_. She had to be. Thorin knew the road ahead would be dangerous, but as dangerous as she had made it out to be, no, he didn't buy that. She had even mentioned trolls, while those didn't come anywhere near the route they would be taking.

The house was slowly getting quiet. Several dwarves had gone to sleep already and Mr Baggins hadn't been seen for at least an hour. Balin had gone outside to talk to Miss Andrews, but Thorin didn't think it would have much effect. The quest seemed doomed to fail before it had even properly started.

But he wasn't going to give up, not now. Before Gandalf had given him the key, maybe he could have, even though he seriously doubted that, but now there was no way back for him anymore. He meant what he had said to Balin only an hour ago: there was no choice, not for him.

The peace in the house was shattered when Kíli and Fíli's voices started shouting. They were on the other end of the hole, so he couldn't make out their words exactly, but judging by the sounds he could hear, someone had dropped something and now his nephews were blaming each other playfully, but mostly too loud.

'What is the meaning of this?' Even as he asked, he could see the answer. The backpack belonging to Miss Andrews had toppled over, its contents sent flying all over the room.

'Wow, look at this now!' Kíli exclaimed. The young dwarf had picked up something small. 'A book?'

Thorin held out his hand. 'Give it to me. And put Miss Andrews's belongings back in her bag.'

Why in Durin's name would anyone in their senses bring such a heavy and unnecessary thing as a book on a quest, or even a hiking trip, as she had been thinking? Was she out of her mind?

The ranting would have continued had he not caught sight of the title: _The Hobbit_. He blinked. Kate had made mention of the fact that there was a story about what they were about to do, she had however failed to mention that she actually had the book with her.

Part of him didn't want to know what was in this book, but another, definitely bigger part couldn't resist. He opened the book on the first chapter. _In a hole under the ground there lived a hobbit. _The letters were different than he was used to and something about the choice of words seemed off as well. But it was readable. His eyes flew over the lines, taking in what was written. Most of the first chapter seemed to fit in with what had happened here this evening, some of it didn't. But there was enough that was accurate to turn Thorin's stomach to ice.

_What kind of devilry is this? How come people in another world know about the quest even before it has happened?_ With growing dread he turned the pages, reading a few lines here and there, not enough to establish if it was true or even probable, but enough to know that Kate at least had not been lying about the fact that there was a book that made mentions of the events she had been listing.

But if this dreaded book was right about this evening, partly at least, what else could it be right about? Miss Andrews had named many things, including a prediction that some of them would die in battle. _Leave the book_, a voice inside his head urged. _It will only make you doubt your quest._ But he could not leave it, not when this might be the key to their success.

The next moment he wished he had listened to it. _They buried Thorin_… The sentence went on, but the words blurred before Thorin's eyes. _They buried Thorin_… Those three words fought their way into his head and took up residence there. _They buried Thorin_…

'Uncle, are you all right?' Kíli was looking at him as if he was on his deathbed.

_I might as well be_. He ignored his nephew, turned on his heels and marched to the front door, into the garden, where he could see both Kate and Balin sitting on the bench.

That stopped him for just long enough to realise he couldn't just confront her in front of the old warrior. The rest of the company was still unaware of the presence of this book and its contents. No one had taken her seriously when she had blurted out what dangers awaited them, thinking she had only said it to either frighten or anger them. He was the only one knowing that she had been serious. And maybe that was for the best.

The two people hadn't seen him and Thorin remained where he was, unseen and unheard as their conversation unfolded.

'And what does it matter anyway?' Kate asked. 'I don't have a choice in this, do I? I don't have any money, or at least not the kind I can pay with around here, I do not have anywhere to go. The only option I have is to go with you lot.'

The woman was obviously wallowing in self-pity, making Thorin even more reluctant than he already was to take her with them. Why couldn't Gandalf just send her back? But even when he had all but demanded it of the wizard, he had refused, repeating his statement that she did have something to add to this quest.

'I can't make promises, you know,' the woman said, looking down at the contract Balin had placed in front of her. 'It's right, I do know the book. But that doesn't mean I will be a good addition to your company.' Nonetheless, she signed it and handed it back to his old friend.

She _signed_. Was she out of her mind? She couldn't be serious, could she? What was she thinking? What had her made her change her mind so drastically as to come with them when she had made it so clear she had no desire to only a few hours ago? It wasn't like she didn't have somewhere to go. The hobbit wasn't coming and he seemed to have taken a liking to her, probably because they had both fallen victim to the wizard's scheming.

And what made her even believe he would welcome her into the company? _Well, your contract might have something to do with that_, a voice in the back of his head helpfully pointed out. And now that she had signed it, there was no way back anymore. The company was stuck with her and her dangerous book.

'Ah, but you'll try, won't you?' Balin asked her. The old warrior's tone was sympathetic, reminding Thorin very much of the tone his old friend had always used on him when he was still a young dwarf, unsure of himself.

As Thorin's right-hand man started back towards the house, the dwarf prince could hear her muttered reply. 'Yes, I will.' Balin didn't seem to either hear her or see him lurking in the shadows as he went in and closed the door, now free of the mark Gandalf had placed on it.

Thorin waited half a minute before he approached Kate. The young woman seemed to have frozen into the same position she had when Balin left her; knees drawn up to her chin with her arms wrapped around them, staring into the distance.

Thorin had regained some control over himself, enough at least to not march up to her and start shouting. But the worry and fear still filled his heart and left little room for anything else. He walked over, using big steps, and threw the book on the empty spot of the bench. 'What's this?' he demanded.

His sudden presence startled her. 'Can you not do that?' she asked in a loud voice, sending a glare his way.

'What is that?' Thorin repeated. He remained standing and was therefore practically looming over her now. A good thing that was too, because when standing, she was as tall as he was. Small for a human, she was indeed.

Miss Andrews glanced at the book. 'An object that you had no business taking from my backpack,' she retorted. 'I take it you read it, then, or at least parts of it.' Taken into account that the shock of learning about his own death would still be etched on his face, that was a conclusion that seemed rather obvious to Thorin. 'You know what, I don't care. You can have it, use it, whatever you want to do with it. I don't care.'

But she wasn't going to get away with it that easily. 'It doesn't all fit,' he told her. Some things in this book had been wrong. He hadn't arrived with the rest of the party, like the book said. There was still enough true that made him feel awfully ill at ease, though.

She snorted. 'Yes, it does,' she disagreed. 'There is another version of this tale and that matches the events of this evening perfectly. Kind of freaks me out actually,' she added under her breath.

He would have put it differently, but Thorin had to agree with her on that point. 'So, you were not lying then, were you, Miss Andrews?' he inquired.

'Kate.'

'I beg your pardon?'

'My name's Kate,' she clarified. 'If I'm going to be stuck with you lot for a while, you might as well use my first name. Bloody wizard.'

And again, he had to agree.

'I take it you were no less successful than I was in convincing him to send me back?' There wasn't even any kind of hope in Miss Andrews's, correction, Kate's voice now.

'The wizard will not be persuaded,' Thorin confirmed. 'And you signed the contract. Why?'

Kate huffed. 'What else was I going to do?' she wondered, laughing humourlessly.

Although he suspected it was a rhetorical question, he answered. 'The hobbit will not come,' he pointed out. 'You could stay with him.' Rather than travel with us. 'He seems to have taken quite a shine to you.'

'Oh, will he stay?' She didn't even look in his direction, but the tone was mocking. 'Haven't read that far then, have you? He will come, believe me. And if you don't believe me, read the bloody book.' The tone was full of bravado, but Thorin could hear the numbness underneath it. No matter how much he hated the fact that she would be coming on the quest (for after the signing of the contract there was no way back), he knew the sound of a person being lost, cruelly torn away from their homeland. It was a pain he could relate to all too easily. He also knew he couldn't afford that feeling now. The quest was too important.

'Is that in both the versions of your tale?' he demanded.

She nodded. 'You believe me, then?'

'Gandalf believes you.' Thorin tended to believe her as well, but he hardly dared to admit that, even to himself. Because believing her would mean he would also believe her book and that was something he could not do, did not want to do. He couldn't go on this quest knowing he would be marching to his own death and those of several of his companions. 'And I now have no choice but to take you with us.' He hoped he could convey how much that vexed him.

She huffed. 'Yes, because I'm so happy to go on a quest that might just get me killed, accompanied by a scheming wizard and a grumpy king surrounded by a bunch of school boys with beards.' The sarcasm was too obvious to miss. 'Do you think this is what I actually wanted? I expected to be home in two weeks, be with my friends, my family. Did you know my grandfather is gravely ill? He'll probably die within a few months' time. And thanks to your bloody quest, I may never see him again.' The words came spilling out of her mouth, angry, but mostly tainted by hurt and desperation. Her grip on her knees tightened until her knuckles turned white. Thorin pretended not to see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

'Then why do you come?' he demanded again, still not having received a satisfactory answer.

She turned on him now, her stormy grey eyes sparking with righteous rage. 'Because if I am so lucky as to survive this mess, your quest may just prove to be my return ticket home. I have no desire to be stuck here for the rest of my life, Thorin Oakenshield. You want to go home, don't you? Well, so do I and it seems accompanying you is the only way for me. Gandalf won't send me back before I did what he brought me here to do, whatever the hell that is supposed to be.'

Sympathy was lurking in Thorin's heart. There were striking similarities in their situations and they were all too easy to notice once you started looking. And that was something he could not do. Kate was still a liability. He knew next to nothing about her and she was unable to defend herself. She might as well have written _burden_ on her forehead.

But this was the situation they had to deal with. Kate was here, whether he liked it or not, and Gandalf was not sending her back. 'Just stay out of everyone's way,' he told her bluntly. 'And try to make yourself useful.'

He left her before she got the chance to reply.

From Kate's notebook: _I signed the contract. And what on earth have I gotten myself into?_

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**Did you like that twist? Next week, the start of the journey, a wager and a lot of questions. In the meantime please review?**


	5. Chapter 5 Questions

**Hello dear readers. I have been writing a lot lately, so I thought I'd upload early. I hope you'll like this chapter, but even if you don't please share your thoughts with me.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 5**

**Questions**

_If after those conversations I thought I was being accepted into the group, I was sorely mistaken. I was merely being tolerated now that Thorin and Balin seemed to think I had the potential to be useful, but as soon as they would find out that I became more of a burden than an asset, I had no doubt they would leave me on the spot…_

**Kate**

Somehow Kate had been hoping things would be back to something passing as normal when she woke. She had gotten herself a quiet spot in the corner of Bilbo's living room to sleep. There had been other dwarves in the room, but they were all a fairly good distance away and their snoring wasn't too loud. Still, she had been awake for most of the night, lying on her back staring to the ceiling, trying to wrap her head around everything that had happened.

In short, she had landed in Hobbiton, courtesy of that meddling old wizard, and was now forced to go on a quest in order to get home again. If it wasn't so utterly ridiculous, the facts would have been painfully simple. But it was ridiculous and so her mind went round in circles. There were no answers, only questions and the headache came back with a vengeance. In the end she silently cried herself to sleep, hoping against hope that she would find herself back in her own bed when she woke.

But she had no such luck. She was woken by a hand, shaking her shoulder softly. 'Time to get up, lass.'

Kate cracked one eye open and found herself staring into the familiar yet unwelcome face of Balin. Disappointment washed over her. It had not been a dream. It was all too real and there was no way back.

He must have seen something on her face. 'Sorry, lass,' he told her, although he didn't specify what he was sorry for.

'I was hoping things would look better in the morning,' she confessed. 'I guess that was rather foolish of me.'

Balin offered her a sympathetic smile. 'Afraid not. Come on, get out, otherwise Bombur will have eaten all the food.'

Having seen the size of said dwarf, Kate found it impossible to argue with that. She got up, packed her things together and made sure she would be ready to go as soon as it pleased Thorin to leave. The last thing she wanted was for him to have another reason to look at her the way he did; like she was personally responsible for all the wrongs in his life. He had made it clear last night that he viewed her as a liability and a liar, if nothing else. She didn't need that look directed at her that much. If she stayed out of his way and attracted no attention, he might just forget about her, she decided, even as her more rebellious side longed to punch his arrogant face, and preferably break something in the process.

_That temper of yours will be the death of you_, she told herself sternly as she followed her nose to the kitchen.

The hobbit-sized kitchen was already full, but the daylight flooding in from the windows made it all feel a little less crowded. It made the room look bigger and the dwarves less intimidating, which was a strange thing to say, since she was taller than most of them.

'Morning, Miss Andrews,' Gandalf greeted. 'I trust you slept well?'

Kate didn't even bother with an answer. 'Morning,' she muttered at the rest, carefully avoiding meeting anyone's eyes. The whole thing felt terribly awkward. 'Is there somewhere left for me to sit?'

'Here, lass,' Balin beckoned. He shoved over so that there was a little space between him and Kíli. 'We saved you some breakfast.'

'Thanks.' Kate squeezed herself past at least three other dwarves before she reached her spot.

'So,' Kíli began, looking at her with interest.

'So _what_?' she asked.

His face split into a grin. 'You are coming, then?'

She nodded, chewing of a bit of toast. 'Yes, but I believe you already knew that, didn't you?' Thorin's frustrated expression would most certainly have taken care of that. The dwarf prince, or king (she still hadn't figured out which one it actually was) looked at his toast as if that was the sole cause for his troubles.

'You signed the contract then?' Fíli insisted.

'Yes, I did.' _Can't you just let me finish my breakfast in peace?_

'So, you are the omniscient one?' Ori asked. He was one of the younger dwarves and only a tad less curious than Fíli and Kíli.

'For the last time, _no_, I am not. Gandalf thinks I have some information that might help you on your quest, although I cannot for the life of me figure out what he means. That does not make me some kind of all-knowing miracle. More like an adviser, or something like that.' That didn't fit in her opinion either, but it was better than that awful name Gandalf and the rest of the company seemed to have given it.

As she worked her way through her breakfast and the dwarves fortunately directed their attention elsewhere, she got some time to sift through her thoughts. Her head felt clearer than it had last night and in some ways the morning had made things look a bit better, less gloomy anyway. There was a small ray of hope on the horizon, some small hope that after this, she might just be able to return home. She had to hold on to that hope as best as she could. Right now it was the only thing keeping her from screaming.

_They'll be wondering where I am_. The thought had taken up residence in her head before she could even begin to block it out. _In two weeks they'll start worrying. They'll call the police and when they won't be able to find me, they…_ She almost choked on a piece of bread as she realised people might think she had died when they would be unable to find her. Kíli patted her back to dislodge the food, sending her almost face first into her plate.

'I'm fine,' she managed to say, her voice sounding rather hoarse from all the coughing. 'I'm okay. It was nothing.' Her cheeks coloured bright crimson in embarrassment.

'Are you sure, lass?' Balin asked.

'Positive,' she reassured him. Why couldn't the ground just open and swallow her up? 'Really, I am fine. Now if all you gentlemen could stop behaving like worried old wives, please?' The irritation started to win out.

Kate started to remove the food that had accidentally ended up in her hair as Kíli had "patted" her back, not looking at her companions, until it was yanked from her hands. 'You should braid it,' Kíli commented. 'Saves you the trouble with food and such.'

'Thanks, I am fine,' she snapped at him, not liking how touchy-feely he was with her hair.

Kíli didn't listen. In fact, he ignored her altogether as he half turned her around so he could get his hands on the rest of the unruly curls as well. Her protests were met by laughter.

_Just go with it_, she told herself, clenching and unclenching her fists, silently reminding herself to count to ten before flying off the handle. 'You do know this is rude, right?'

'It's practical, lass,' Balin said in a soothing voice. 'You won't want to be on the road with all that hair hanging around.'

_Sod you too_. 'Pot calling kettle black,' she shot back. True, most of her companions had at least one braid in their hair, but Balin wasn't one of them.

'What happened to your neck?' another dwarf suddenly asked. Kate thought it was Bofur, but she wasn't sure yet. It could also be Bifur.

She tried to turn to hide the long white scar from sight, but Kíli's hands held her firmly in place, effectively preventing her from moving. And anyway, the cat was already out of the bag now. All the dwarves stared at the long since healed wound and those that couldn't see it, leaned over so that they could.

'Nothing,' she replied curtly, using her hands to cover the ugly thing. Most of the time she let her hair hang loose as to prevent questions like this one.

'Doesn't look like nothing,' Fíli remarked, taking a closer look at it. 'What happened?'

Kate weighed her chances of getting out of this with a scathing put-down and found them slim to none. 'Street robbery,' she admitted. 'They wanted my purse, I wanted me to have my purse and then they came at me with a knife. They scratched my neck, I broke the nose of the first thug and gave his mate a shiner and they backed off. End of story.' Not exactly true, but that was need-to-know information anyway and they didn't need to know she had been transported to the hospital in an ambulance where she had to stay for the next few days because of the amount of blood that she had lost. 'I got to keep my purse anyway,' she added as an afterthought.

'Your right hook that will knock out dragons and orcs must have been something to behold.' Since this was coming out of Dwalin's mouth instead of Balin's, Kate got the idea that her conversation with Balin had not remained as private as she had thought. Bloody dwarves.

'Told you it was magnificent.' Hopefully making a joke out of it would help. _But if you gossip about me again, then so help me God…_

'You've got something to tie up the braid?' Kíli asked from behind her.

'Yes, in my bag,' she replied. Now that her hair was out of her face, she had to admit it was practical. It would be nice not to have it getting blown into her face all the time. 'Leave it, Kíli. It'll hold till then.'

She got the feeling the dwarves made a point of ignoring her when it suited them. From across the table something was thrown her way. She caught it before she realised it was in fact a leather strip. It took her another few seconds to realise that Thorin had been the one to throw it.

'Why…?' she began to ask, but Thorin had already risen from his chair, interrupting her before she could finish that question.

'We move out in a quarter of an hour,' he told his company. 'Everyone who is not ready by then will be left behind.' A meaningful look was thrown in her direction. 'It would seem that you were wrong about the hobbit, Miss Andrews.'

It was said in such a condescending tone that Kate could not help but react. She was on her feet before she knew it, only then realising Kíli was still holding her hair. But she ignored the painful pulling of her hair, instead giving the dwarf king the full benefits of her iciest death glare. 'I bet he'll be with us before lunchtime.'

Thorin's eyes betrayed how surprised he was by this, even if the rest of his face remained perfectly indifferent. 'And how will you pay me when you lose?' he questioned. 'You said yourself your money is worth nothing here.'

_But I won't lose, will I?_ '_If_ I lose,' she said with emphasis, 'I'll leave it up to you to determine what I owe you.' _Please let Bilbo do as he is supposed to do, or I'll be screwed, royally_.

'That is a rather dangerous bet,' Thorin remarked. 'Are you sure, Miss Andrews?'

Kate nodded immediately. Had she been in any other mood she would have thought twice about such a wager, but she was angry now and hurt by his lack of trust in her knowledge, even though he had read parts of the book. _That temper will be the death of you_, common sense whispered in the back of her head. She ignored it. 'I am sure. Are _you_?'

Had her mother been here she would have pulled her down, hissing at her daughter to hold her tongue, whilst apologising to Thorin about Kate's inappropriate behaviour. But since she was in another world, there was no one to rein her in.

Something flashed in Thorin's eyes. It may have been rage, it may have been another wave of surprise. It was gone before she could make sense of it. 'Deal,' he replied icily before marching out of the kitchen.

'Wow,' Kíli said, sounding impressed. 'I think that's the first time I've seen him take a wager, Kate. You must have really vexed him.'

Kate snorted. 'My very presence seems to vex him. I'm afraid it's not that much of an achievement.' She got up to collect her luggage. 'Thanks for the braid, by the way.'

He gave her a charming smile. 'You're welcome.'

_I bet_. Kíli seemed to have the same characteristics as her brother, which might explain why she got along with him and his brother so easily.

The house was filled with the sound of dwarves laughing and joking as she walked to the other end of the hole to get her bags. She supposed she would be assigned a pony, so at least she didn't have to carry it all herself. Even though the idea of riding an actual pony made her shiver, she tried not to show it. She had never actual ridden before, unless you counted that one time on the funfair when she was six and that didn't really count in Kate's opinion. Someone had held the beast all the time and it had only been for five minutes. But she'd be damned before she told that to her companions. There already seemed to be a small group that thought she was next to useless. She would not give them another confirmation of that theory.

The dwarves seemed to be split into three groups, she pondered as she was strapping the holdall to her pony. The first group, led by Thorin of course, considered her a liability and a burden. The next group was the group that might potentially like her. For now they were just curious about her and where she came from. Kíli and Balin were among them. The rest was undecided for now. It would depend on the events still to come how they would feel about her.

'Need help, lass?' Ori's question snapped her out of her thoughts.

'I'm fine, thanks,' Kate replied stiffly. 'But thanks for offering.'

The young dwarf smiled at her. 'You need anything, you just ask.' He was blushing a bit, reminding Kate inevitably of Bashful from the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves Disney movie. She decided not to tell him about that. Something told her that these dwarves would be gravely offended by that fairy tale and honestly, she couldn't even blame them. Not for that anyway. Heaven knew she blamed them for pretty much everything else.

They set out exactly a quarter of an hour after Thorin's announcement. No one would be able to accuse these dwarves of being anything less than punctual. They left Hobbiton in a long row, gaining them quite a bit of attention from its inhabitants that openly stared at and after them, expressions varying from mild curiosity to downright disapproval of such a disturbance of the peace.

Kate might have been enjoying the friendly landscape and the morning sunshine that drove the chill away, were it not that was too aware of the reason why she was here in the first place. Her eyes settled on the back of the grey wizard, who had taken it upon himself to lead the way. No one was riding with him for now. Maybe this would be the ideal moment to try and get some answers from him.

**Thorin**

Thorin tried not to express his surprise as Kate rushed past him and started riding next to Gandalf. Given the events of last night Thorin would have suspected she would have avoided him like the plague. She had no trouble whatsoever hiding her loathing towards the wizard, making it all too clear that Middle Earth was the last place she desired to be.

'You and I need to talk,' she announced. Thorin had no idea what she did in her world, but he guessed she was some kind of authority figure, despite her young age. There was no mistaking that commanding tone.

The dwarf had to admit she had chosen her moment well. Gandalf had no smoke or other conversation to hide behind at present, nor were there any people around he could suddenly begin a conversation with. As far as one could say cornered about a man on a moving horse, the wizard was just that.

'And about what would that be, my dearest girl?' the old man wondered.

Thorin tried to look at something else than them, not wanting to alert them to the fact that he was for all intents and purposes eavesdropping on them, even when it was practically them that had come within his earshot.

'I think you know,' Kate replied icily. 'You never answered my question. Why did you bring me here? Truly. Because I am not sure I believe all that bullshit about being some kind of guide.'

'Oh, I am sure you will be,' Gandalf replied, clearly trying to avoid answering Kate's question.

That peeked Thorin's own interest. He had known the wizard for quite some time now and if there was anything he had learned in all that time, it was that Gandalf always started acting like this whenever he had an ulterior motive for something. He had done it just now, but also when he had been asked about how many dragons he had killed and when Thorin himself had asked what the real reason was for selecting Mr Baggins as the burglar. He shouldn't have been surprised that there was also more to Miss Andrews's being here than the wizard had let on.

'Yes, you seem to leave me very little choice in the matter,' Kate muttered sourly. 'It doesn't explain why you chose me, though. Where I come from there are dozens of people who know the book inside out, who do know how to survive in the wild and who can fight on top of that. I think we both know I'm not the ideal candidate, so I ask again: why me?'

Gandalf suddenly pretended to be overly interested in the road ahead.

If Kate's posture was anything to go by, she was positively boiling over with rage now. Unlike Thorin she had no idea how to control her anger. It came and went unexpectedly, feeling like a force of nature to those it was directed against. But the effects were far less than that. Thorin got the amusing picture of a small cat pretending to be a lion. You might be fooled by her harsh and unfeeling words, but when it came to it she was just another fragile human woman, incapable to make good on the threats she uttered.

But when she spoke her voice was sounding as icy as Thorin's own when he was mad at someone. 'Let me tell you what I think about this,' she proposed. 'And you can correct me if I am wrong.'

There was no response from Gandalf.

Kate went on regardless. 'I think you have been to my world,' she told the wizard. 'I think you know the story. You know too much about where I come from not to have been there. That brochure for the hiking trip? You knew the names of places, of machinery, means of transport…' Her voice trailed off, thoughtfully now. 'There is just no way you could have known about things that don't even exist around here without having been in my world to see it with your own eyes. You even fooled me and I am from there.'

Gandalf didn't contradict it. Instead the wizard looked to his left, away from Kate. 'Have you noticed the birds around here, Miss Andrews?' he asked pleasantly.

Thorin knew immediately that Kate's assessment of the situation had been spot on. He also knew that when he reacted like this, no amount of coaxing could persuade him to part with his secrets. All that this was telling them was that Gandalf did have some kind of plan involving Kate, same as he had for Mr Baggins, who still had to make an appearance. And whatever this plan was, Gandalf was not going to share it with anyone before he thought the time was right. Knowing the wizard, that wasn't going to be anytime soon.

'Thought so,' Kate muttered under her breath.

She too had apparently recognised this behaviour for what it was, and was less than pleased with it. But it felt to Thorin as if none of them actually had a choice in what to do now. Gandalf had somehow become the puppet master of this adventure. Thorin was still trying to work out how and when exactly that had happened.

'But why am _I_ here?' Kate urged, not giving up yet. 'Why me and not someone else more skilled?'

Gandalf smiled at her, a kind and friendly smile. 'It will be very good for you, my girl,' he informed her. Acting like that, like a kind old gentleman, it was almost impossible to remain angry with him, even though they knew he was orchestrating every minute of this. 'And most amusing for me,' the wizard added under his breath.

Kate's head swivelled in his direction, so Thorin was allowed a look on her face as well. The woman's eyes were narrowed, her forehead forced into a wary frown. 'You do know the story,' she concluded, although the dwarf could by no means establish how she could be so sure about that.

The wizard smiled again. 'What gave me away?' he wondered.

So he admitted it. He knew the contents of the book and possibly the other version Kate had mentioned last night. So why had he brought her here if he had all the relevant information himself? Thorin wasn't sure if this conversation was giving him answers or just provided him with more questions.

'Quoting the movie at me,' Kate replied, her tone grumpy, but also confused. 'You said the exact same thing to Bilbo when you chose him for the job. Can't say he took it any better than me, though.'

'Quite right,' Gandalf agreed. 'You seem to react much more reasonable.'

There was absolutely nothing reasonable in Kate's expression now. She glared at the wizard. 'Good for me, eh? Have you ever thought about if this is good for them as well?'

Gandalf was saved from having to answer that question by shouting in the distance. 'Wait!' someone yelled. 'Wait!'

Thorin stopped the pony and turned around to see a breathless Bilbo, with the contract waving behind him like some kind of flag. His face bore an expression of excitement.

'I signed it,' Mr Baggins announced with no small amount of smugness seeping through in his voice. He walked over to Balin and handed him the contract back.

The old warrior examined it and then nodded. 'Everything appears to be in order,' he said. 'Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield.'

Thorin himself was still trying to determine whether to be relieved that the burglar had turned up, saving them the bother of finding another, or to be annoyed at the presence of yet another useless individual in his company. But, like Kate, there was no turning him away now. They would have to make do with him, as unhappy as he was to have the hobbit here. One day Gandalf would pay for this, he would make sure of that.

'Give him a pony,' he ordered.

The hobbit started voicing his protests, but Thorin wasn't even listening anymore. He knew his orders would be obeyed and so he started moving again, blocking out Mr Baggins's arguments for walking and his shout of protest as he was lifted onto the pony.

He only noticed now that Kate had taken her distance from the wizard and was now riding next to him, a huge grin on her face. It could almost be called triumphant. Oh well, who was he fooling? That was exactly what it was.

'I'd say it is still before lunchtime, don't you agree?' she asked him. 'Which means that you have lost,' she added helpfully when he didn't immediately understand what she was going on about.

The bet. Of course, he had taken that stupid wager with her and he had lost. And judging by the look on her face she had known that all along. He could feel what little sympathy he had found for her go down the drain that very moment. For some unfathomable reason she liked to see him humiliated.

He threw her the money. 'Spend it well,' he snapped at her. 'Since you won't be getting anything else.' He didn't await her reaction, but kicked his pony into a gallop, away from her and her dangerous knowledge.

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From Thorin's notes: _The first chance I get, I swear I'll lose that dreadful woman, no matter what the wizard says._

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**Next time things get really uncomfortable and maybe even a bit awkward. The chapter should be up Sunday, so keep an eye out for it.**

**In the meantime, please review?**


	6. Chapter 6 Uncomfortable Situations

**Chapter 6**

**Uncomfortable Situations**

_I learned a good few things those first two weeks on the road. The first and foremost was that fanfiction was a load of bullshit at the very best of times. Somehow authors seemed to miss out on the troubles one has when traveling with a bunch of dwarves or, better still, male individuals. _

_Of course I had always known that men did not value personal hygiene as much as women did, but I had more or less been prepared for that and most evenings I had a least a chance to freshen myself up a bit at a nearby brook or stream. I had also anticipated the lack of privacy, although that was getting to me a lot more. Never having as much as moment to myself made me irritable and on edge and I'm ashamed to admit I took it out on my companions a lot of the time, especially when they were bugging me with questions about my personal life again._

_But so far it was nothing that I hadn't known to expect. I had gotten a few changes of clothes whilst staying in Bree for the night, paid for with the money I had won from Thorin, and had at the same time purchased some good boots as well. My hiking shoes were all good and well, but as soon as it started to rain the water would surely soak my socks._

_Strangely enough it were the small things that really got to me: the dwarves' snoring, the pain in my muscles after spending the day on a pony (definitely _not_ a horse), the hostility I could still feel practically radiating off some of my new companions, especially Thorin, and the annoying flirting remarks coming from the younger dwarves._

_But it would soon turn out I had really forgotten all about the biggest problem I had…_

**Kate**

It was two weeks to the day that Kate had been spirited away from the bus stop into Middle Earth. She had been dreading this day for weeks, lying awake at night, hoping against hope that Gandalf would just send her back home as soon as the two weeks were over, like he had promised in that blasted brochure he had sent her. Of course she knew deep down she would have no such luck, but the foolish hope was sometimes the only thing that kept her going, or kept her from exploding for that matter.

She had been worrying. What would her family do if they discovered Kate had quite literally disappeared off the face of the earth? She imagined they would call the police, start an investigation. The police would search for her, investigate every clue until the trail inevitably went dead. As time dragged on, they would start to give up hope, tell her loved ones to prepare for the worst…

_Stop thinking about that!_ Kate ordered herself. She had been awake most of the night, feeling restless, too wound up to sleep and the dwarves' snoring had only helped her to stay awake. So now she lay on her bedroll, arms folded under her head, staring to the slightly lightning sky.

Bofur had the last watch and he was already stirring up the fire again, preparing for the day. Kate sighed and decided to get up and help him prepare breakfast. At least it would give her something to do, distracting her from the thoughts she did not want to think.

It began as she was fetching water from the brook that was situated just a few meters away from their camp; a nagging, uncomfortable feeling in her lower belly. _Stress_, she told herself, dismissing the feeling, carrying on with her chores, trying to ignore it as best she could.

There was no ignoring it after breakfast anymore. The discomfort had steadily grown into a full-blown ache, a very attention demanding, crippling kind of pain.

_Shit_, she thought. How long ago was it since she last bled? She made a quick calculation in her head. Four weeks, if she was not mistaken, and by now she was quite sure that she wasn't. _Shit, shit, shit!_ In all those fictions she had read, she had never once read about a heroine who had her monthly period whilst traveling. In fact, they didn't seem to have a period at all, until they found out they had gotten themselves pregnant by some member of the company.

_Well, at least there's one thing that won't happen to me_, Kate thought wryly. It didn't change the fact that she now knew exactly what was causing her to feel so bad and that she actually had no idea how to deal with this.

'We'll move out in half an hour,' Thorin announced as soon as breakfast was done. 'Make sure you're all ready by then.' He gave Kate a pointed look, which she ignored. So far she had never been late, so she guessed by now it was more of a habit than an actual threat. Oh, she didn't doubt he would leave her behind if she gave him as much as the smallest of excuses. The leader of the company had not exactly made it a secret that the quest was his main concern and that he saw both her and poor Bilbo as burdens.

And here she was, about to confirm everything he had ever thought about her. She knew herself. Taking painkillers might ease the pain a bit, enough to take the worst edge off it, but it was not going to be easy in any way and riding a pony wouldn't do her any favours either.

She grabbed her bag and made for the small stream nearby to examine the damage. It would appear that she had some luck left, although she wasn't aware that she had it in the first place. The bleeding wasn't too bad yet and at least she had taken some precautions, just in case she wouldn't be home in time.

_Well, I'm definitely not home in time._ The thought nagged at her that she might not be home for months to come and that she would go through this again before the quest ended, multiple times as well. The painkillers would probably not be any problem – she had stocked up on those enough and if she was careful she might just have enough of them to last the quest, especially since the pain normally didn't last longer than a day – but her other resources would. She was already running low. But she was not going to ask for assistance. Kate thought she would rather bleed to death than ask advice on this particular subject from any man, let alone these men. Apart from the fact she would probably embarrass them as much as she'd embarrass herself, they wouldn't know what to do either.

_So, you hold out until Rivendell_, she promised herself, knowing they would reach that before this problem would come next time. _Surely there are female elves there who can give me a few pointers?_

At least she bloody well hoped so. Oh, she'd probably want to die of shame when she did ask, but sometimes one had to do the things one hated.

'Kate? Kate, are you there?' That was Fíli's voice.

Kate quickly hid all the evidence that might give away her problem and then answered. 'I'm here.' She quickly filled her water bottle and swallowed a painkiller before the dwarf would reach her.

Or so she'd thought. 'What are you doing?' Fíli sounded a bit suspicious. He fell into the category of dwarves that seemed to have taken some kind of liking to her, but it was still laced with wariness.

It was present with all of them. She was after all a stranger from another world with some dangerous knowledge stuffed away in her backpack. It didn't help that her only motivation to come on this quest was her hope that Gandalf would send her home again. They all knew that when it would come to a choice between them or returning to her own home in her own world, she would choose the latter without as much as a second thought. In that particular respect even Bilbo was held in higher regard than she was, because he at least had come out of his own free will. Kate had merely been forced into this, but Bilbo had, for reasons that were still somewhat vague to Kate (and the rest of the company as well), chosen to go on an adventure. A little nudge out of the door, was what Gandalf had called it in the Lord of the Rings movie and that was precisely what it was. Well, if he had been nudged, Kate had been dragged.

She thought about lying for half a second and then decided against it. These people already mistrusted her and she could do without giving them another reason for kicking her out. So, true, she didn't want to be on this quest, but she wanted to be left alone on the road in a strange world even less.

'Taking a painkiller,' she replied, stuffing the small box back in the backpack in order not to look at him. She was pretty sure her facial colour now closely resembled that of a ripe tomato.

Fíli actually looked at her in concern now. 'Are you injured?' he questioned, coming a few steps closer.

'No, no!' she hastened to say. Ugh, why hadn't she just lied about this? The whole thing was already incredibly more awkward than she could have possibly imagined.

A frown crept onto his face. 'Then what is wrong with you?' he urged. 'Are you ill?'

She turned to him now. 'I'm fine. It's nothing I can't handle.' She got to her feet, but could not help but grimace as the pain shot through her body at that movement. Today was going to be a long day to be sure.

If she had been hoping the dwarf would back off, her almost doubling over with the pain had rendered that effort null and void again. Fíli actually belonged to the group that might potentially like her, so he was more inclined to be worried about her. Good grief, why couldn't it just have been Dwalin who had come to find her? She was pretty sure he would not have made such a fuss. In all likeliness he would just have ignored this, which irritated her normally, but would have suited her just fine in this case.

'You are hurt!' Fíli exclaimed.

'Who is hurt?' And if things weren't bad already, they were certainly now. Thorin came marching into the clearing.

'Kate is,' Fíli replied before she got the chance to answer herself.

'Am not,' she contradicted, but it sounded feeble, even to her own ears. Why, just why would she have to be one of those women that had to have so much trouble with her monthly period? She was all too aware this made her look like some delicate female who was not made for traveling the wild. In the last two weeks she had done everything in her power to let her companions at least look at her as if she wasn't a complete waste of space. She clenched her fists in frustration.

Thorin's cold look told her he didn't buy that. 'What is going on here?' he demanded. When he spoke like that it was all too easy to realise that he indeed was royalty.

'Nothing,' Kate said forcefully. 'I. Am. Fine.' _Meaning: I am not in the mood to discuss this with either of you._

Of course Fíli didn't catch on. Men and intuition, obviously two words that weren't meant to be used in the same sentence. 'I think she is hurt. She took something called a painkiller and she almost doubled over when she tried to stand.'

Kate could feel her cheeks flush and she made to march away, back to the camp, only to realise that Fíli had apparently taken her arm to steady her. 'It's nothing,' she muttered.

She could feel Thorin's eyes looking her over. 'It doesn't look like nothing,' he stated.

Kate snorted. 'Oh, please, don't start pretending you actually care about what happens to me, because we both know that would be a huge lie. I am fine. I can handle this.'

A smirk graced his features. 'So you do admit that there is something the matter?'

She glared at him, her reaction made ten times worse by her own embarrassment. So much for handling this discreetly and away from nosy dwarves. 'Can you not just leave me be?' she demanded. 'We both know you don't care about me, so can you please just bugger off?'

His glare matched hers perfectly, although Thorin excelled in radiating ice rather than fire. 'You are a member of this company, Miss Andrews, no matter how much we both detest that fact. Your wellbeing is a concern of mine.'

_Just not one that seems to be high on your sodding list of priorities._ 'Then rest assured in the knowledge that there is nothing you can do for me. Whatever bloody problem I have will solve itself.' _And now please, please drop the subject._

Of course she had underestimated the dwarfish stubbornness. 'If you are feeling unwell, Miss Andrews…'

She broke him off, her temper getting the better of her. 'It's a womanly problem,' she explained. 'And one that you for sure do not want to know about.' _And I sure as hell don't want to tell you about it._ She was already wishing the ground would just open and swallow her up.

This announcement however only resulted in two dwarves looking utterly confused. 'What do you mean?' Fíli asked.

'Please don't make me spell this out for you,' she begged.

The dwarves remained unmoving, obviously waiting for her explanation.

'Oh, for crying out loud!' she mumbled in frustration, before blurting out the reason for her behaviour, keeping her gaze fixed on her boots, however: 'Monthly problem, you know, what women have?' The nerves made it come out incoherent and far too fast, but at least it seemed to have achieved its goal. Both men nodded in understanding first, before the understanding was replaced with something that might have been described as horror.

'Ehm, if you're sure you're all right?' Fíli's tone clearly told her he was as uncomfortable with this as she was; his face coloured bright red, eyes darting as if looking for an escape route.

If this all had not been so incredibly awkward, Kate was sure she would be howling with laughter at their reactions now. They were both adults, battle-hardened warriors, who had seen a lot of bad things, but yet they had no idea how to handle the idea that women bled, albeit in a somewhat different way than warriors on the battlefield.

But this was in no way funny now. Her lower belly felt like someone was poking several knives in it and her own shame at the situation made her reply come out louder and harsher than she would have liked. '_Fine_!' she snapped at them. 'And can you just go? I'll be in the camp in five minutes, just _go_!' She wasn't sure she could handle facing them any longer. And she wasn't sure either how or if they could handle this all too awkward situation for much longer either.

Either way, she didn't need to tell them twice. They all but fled from the clearing, Thorin giving a last stern 'Five minutes, Miss Andrews' before he too disappeared as fast as his legs could carry him.

Kate sank to the ground again, for a moment allowing herself to wallow in self-pity. _What a freaking mess._

**Thorin**

True to her word, Miss Andrews re-entered the camp exactly five minutes later. The rest of the company had already packed away all their belongings and were ready to go. Bofur plucked up the courage to ask if she was all right and was rewarded for his effort by a snapped '_fine_!' from Kate. Fíli had obviously seen fit to inform his brother of the situation, because Thorin's nephews were both trying their hardest, and failing, not to look at the only female in the company.

Not that Thorin himself could handle this much better than they could. He wasn't exactly new to the idea of people bleeding; he had witnessed battles, for Durin's sake. But this, this was something else entirely and for whatever reason he wasn't comfortable talking or even thinking about it. He shouldn't have asked, he now chastised himself. She had been right; this was not the kind of information he needed.

Having said that, Kate did look positively miserable. Her shoulders hunched, she clung to the reins and saddle as if her very life depended on it. Her face was ashen white and it didn't get better with time, but she never as much as uttered a word, a whimper, any indication that she was hurting, although everyone could clearly see that she was. But she slapped down any concerned questions about her wellbeing with an irritated 'fine!' that was obviously a lie, but no one actually dared to question her about it anymore.

That was all right with Thorin. If she wanted to pretend that she was fine, then he would act accordingly. And they really couldn't afford to waste any time. Waiting a day until Miss Andrews felt well enough was not even an option for him, although it would have provided him with the perfect excuse to leave her behind, as he had been longing to do for the past two weeks.

But apparently Kate had to decide to annoy him further. Instead of all but demanding they let her get well, she had gotten on her pony, all but demanding they get on and let her deal with her "womanly problem" on her own. Well, at least everyone had been more than happy to comply with the last part of that demand.

The day dragged on and on and one way or another Thorin's thoughts kept returning to the suffering human woman a few ponies behind him. He was not an indifferent man, no matter what others might think of him. And yes, he hated the idea of a woman (a fragile human woman at that) in his company with a passion, but she had signed that contract and that made her his responsibility, whether he liked it or not.

Once again he wondered what in Durin's name Gandalf had been thinking when he had brought her here. Kate had pointed out that there were more than enough people who would have been perfectly suited to join the quest and that she surely was not one of them. The wizard must have had some ulterior motive when he had chosen Kate for the job. He looked over his shoulder at the hobbit, who looked ill at ease and at least ten times as miserable as Miss Andrews, and changed his mind. Maybe Gandalf had just been his usual weird self.

But it didn't matter which way you looked at it, it was all too clear that a long march was out of the question. Thorin couldn't care less about Bilbo's miserable state, especially when there was no real cause for it, but Kate looked like she might actually fall off the pony if they didn't make camp soon. So when they came at a secluded spot between high rocks, Thorin decided to give in and call it a day.

'We'll make camp here,' he announced. 'Fíli, Kíli, see to the ponies. Bombur, make sure we get some supper. Dori, Nori, get a fire going.'

He dismounted and retrieved his luggage off the pony, bringing it over to a place in the corner of the camp in order to create a bit of a private spot for himself. But he felt restless and he knew why. It wasn't even dark yet. They could have gone on for a few more hours, use all the time they had. Ever since he had made the decision to do as he had dreamed of for most of his life and take back Erebor from the dragon, it was as if a fire had been lit within him. After endless years of feeling lost and useless he had finally gotten a purpose again. His life had meaning once more. It had started off as a flame of hope, burning ever higher until he had been unable to remain in Ered Luin any longer. He needed to do this, or die trying. The fire urged him forward, urged him to never stop, never rest until the task was done.

He felt for the key Gandalf had given him, somehow reassured by its presence. If anything, that key, that beacon of hope, only convinced him of that this was indeed the right thing to do. Thorin didn't have that much faith in prophecies or birds flying back to the Lonely Mountain, even though many of his companions did. For him it was the key that had done it. And now there was no way back for him, even if he had wanted to. And he didn't want to go back in the first place. This was now or never, a once in a lifetime opportunity and it was his duty towards his people, not just his own wish, to do everything in his power to give them back their one true home.

And what could that human understand of that anyway? She had been sitting near the fire ever since they had stopped. Balin had been so kind as to relieve her pony of its burdens while Kate had curled up at the fire, her arms wrapped around her legs, looking white and on the verge of crying. She had looked that exact same way when Thorin had confronted her in the hobbit's garden two weeks ago.

Looking at her now, Thorin could not escape the notion of how weak, how vulnerable, she appeared. This woman was not made for the road. Not that he thought that any woman was meant to be traveling with a company such as this one, but if they had to have one female presence amongst them, Thorin would have appreciated one of his own race. Dwarf women were tougher, less easily hurt and as fierce as their menfolk, albeit in a slightly different way. And they had the added bonus of not looking like they could get blown away in a light breeze.

The dark started to settle over the land and supper came and passed. Thorin wasn't in the mood for conversation, so he carried his portion with him to his own spot, choosing to eat in solitude instead of seeking the loud conversation of his men. Kate had remained with them, but she didn't take part in the conversation and the men left her alone.

The group spread out, some choosing to get an early night, others taking some time to mend broken things, sharpen swords or just smoke a pipe. Thorin saw Bilbo sneaking off to the ponies, giving one of them an apple as he did almost every night. The hobbit might think that it was a secret, but he wasn't as stealthy as he thought he was.

Kate had finally left the fire and situated herself on a large rock close to the animals. She had her cloak wrapped around her and her back turned towards him. Well, if she wanted to suffer in silence she was welcome to it.

It was the shrieking and screaming of wargs and orcs in the distance that got everyone's attentions. Mr Baggins, who would never have encountered either of those in his comfortable, peaceful Shire turned towards them, eyes wide and full of fear. 'What was that?'

'Orcs,' Kíli replied, thoughtfully, still trying to determine the exact source of the noise.

'Orcs?' Bilbo echoed, all but fleeing back to the camp.

'Throat cutters,' Fíli told him, sounding way too cheerful. 'There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them.' The way he said that, the casual tone to his voice brought Thorin's blood close to boiling point already. His nephew may have been fighting a few of those monsters already, but in truth, he had no idea what they were like.

Before he could react, Kíli went on, speaking as if he was telling some kind of scary story. 'They strike in the wee small hours when everyone is asleep,' he told the already frightened hobbit in a low voice. 'Quick and quiet. No screams, just lots of blood.' The brothers chuckled as Mr Baggins seemed to be on the verge of collapse after their words.

They didn't know, did they? They knew as much about orcs and the dangers they represented as that naïve hobbit, but it was the laughing – laughing about it of all things – that made Thorin lose his temper. He couldn't help remembering his own worst encounter with the foul creatures, resulting in the loss of both his father and grandfather. And Fíli and Kíli were just laughing about it.

'Do you think that's funny?' he demanded. A deadly quiet settled over the camp as everyone stared at him. Thorin didn't know exactly when he had gotten to his feet, but when he checked again, he had. 'Do you think a night raid by orcs is a joke?'

Kíli met his gaze, but he at least had the decency to look guilty and a bit ashamed. Fíli just avoided the look, taking Gandalf's "good" example in hiding behind a literal smokescreen. 'We didn't mean anything by it,' Kíli replied by way of an apology.

But that was the very heart of the problem, wasn't it? 'No, you didn't,' he agreed in a voice that was harsher than he had really meant it. 'You know nothing of the world.' Too wound up to go back to his spot, he stalked out of the camp towards the cliff. In a way he even envied them their naivety. What he wouldn't give not to know about the horrors of the world! But he did know them and he had to live with them.

Behind him he could hear Balin tell the tale of that horrible battle as the dwarves fought for the kingdom of Moria. Even though it was long ago, he could still see it, picture it as if it was only yesterday.

The screaming of the orcs sounded in the distance. Kate's silhouette caught his eye, still unmoving, seemingly deaf to the horrid cries of the creatures out there. He hated to talk to her, but right now she might just be the answer to his prayers. At least a conversation would block out Balin's voice and the memories he wasn't sure he could face now.

'You shouldn't be out here on your own,' he told her.

His voice clearly startled her. 'Can you not do that?' she asked in an angry voice, like she had done two weeks previously, although her voice sounded all that more weak now. 'You scared the crap out of me.'

'You shouldn't be out here,' Thorin repeated.

Kate huffed, tucking her cloak tighter around her. 'They won't come here,' she told him.

The dwarf could feel his eyebrows rise. 'How can you be so certain?'

She shrugged. 'Story stuff,' she clarified. 'They won't trouble us. Yet.'

Thorin was still not convinced that her story was even true. To be quite honest, he had been trying his hardest to forget about her book and the information it contained, forcing it to the back of his mind. He wasn't that sure that it was all a lie – there was too much truth in it for it to be just that – but he wasn't sure he could accept it as the truth either.

'Still, no one should stray too far from the group, especially not at night,' he insisted.

The woman snorted. 'Careful,' she warned him. 'Or you might fool me into believing you actually care about what happens to me.' In the dark it was difficult to see her face, but the words still sounded as spoken through clenched teeth. The bravado wasn't necessarily anything more than that. She was still hurting.

'If you are in pain, you need to do something about it,' Thorin snapped at her.

'I can't!' she barked at him. 'It will be gone by morning. Trust me, I know.'

Thorin meant to ask how she was so sure of that, but in the end decided against it. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. 'Then stop sulking and get some sleep,' he ordered her. It might be a bit brusque, but he didn't mean it like that. She was under his protection after all and he had been brought up to be courteous to women, as long as they did not belong to the elven race of course.

'Don't you have some story to listen to, after which you can majestically strut back into the camp?' she moaned. 'Or do something else equally pointless. Just do it somewhere else.' It was a clear dismissal.

He had frozen into place at her mention of the story Balin was telling and the casual way she had told him what she thought he would do next. It wasn't really a suggestion. From the way she spoke Thorin would almost say that she expected him to behave in that particular way. And it unsettled him even more to know that, had he not had a distraction from his oldest friend's tale, he might have done exactly what she had just said.

He grabbed her arm without thinking. 'How do you know?' he hissed at her. 'How can you know what I would do?'

Kate tried to wriggle free, but it was almost too easy for him to hold on to her. She was a human, and a woman at that, and she was weak. He hardly felt her efforts. 'How I know?' she hissed back. 'Because I know the sodding story, for crying out loud! Now, get off me!'

He ignored her. 'Stories can't be that detailed.'

'Well, they are,' she argued stubbornly. 'And if you don't want to believe me, that's your problem, not mine. Can you just go now?'

The woman clearly wanted to be left alone and Thorin would like to do nothing more than grant her that wish, but he had questions that needed answering first. 'You don't know the first thing about me, or this world.'

She glared at him. The moon reflected in her eyes, so he could actually see the glower she sent his way. 'Fine!' she snapped, still in a soft voice as to not to alert the others to the argument. 'That's established then: I know nothing about you and you know nothing about me. Now will you kindly just bugger off? You may have missed the more subtle signs earlier, but I'm not in the mood for company today.'

'Do you think I am?' he demanded, unable not to respond to the angry words that came pouring out of her mouth.

'I don't care,' she told him bluntly. 'I really couldn't care less about how you feel. I've got enough of my own problems to handle at the moment, thank you very much. You have made it very clear these past two weeks that you do not care about me at all. Let me tell you now: the feeling is mutual.'

He released her as if he had burned himself on her. There was fire blazing in her eyes. It was a burning hatred towards him that he saw there. He had known she hadn't liked him and he in turn had never quite taken to her either, but this was unexpected. And he wasn't even sure he cared as little as he had told her. After all, she was a member of this company and he didn't really like it that she was feeling so wretched.

But her last few sentences replaced that concern with ice-cold dislike, disgust even. 'Fine,' he snapped at her, ignoring the fact that that was actually her favourite phrase. 'Have it your way.'

'Perfect,' she agreed angrily. 'Then just get the hell out of here.'

And for the first time ever, he obeyed.

* * *

From Kate's notebook: _If I thought there were no new lows to be reached, I was wrong. How about having my monthly period, embarrassing everyone in the company, including myself, feeling like someone keeps stabbing me in the belly and getting into a heated argument with the prince of prats himself? Yep, definitely my worst day so far. Not to mention the fact that I should have been home by now. Good heavens, my life is messed up._

* * *

**I hope you all liked that. The idea had been sitting in my head for a while and I just had to write it. And for those of you who are wondering why Gandalf chose Kate to join the quest, I have an explanation in mind, but I'd like to hear your ideas as well, so guess away! Please keep the reviews coming. It really means a lot and I like to hear your thoughts on this one!**

**And of course a huge thank you to Princess Kassie and sianyboxx. I can't reply to you by PM, but your support is very much appreciated! **

**Until next week!**


	7. Chapter 7 Arguments

**Chapter 7**

**Arguments**

_Do you remember, Cathy, that one time when you caught Thorin and me in the very middle of a minor disagreement about a subject I have long since forgotten? You were only five or six years old, coming over to our room late at night because you were unable to sleep. I remember very well that you were a little scared when you heard us talk in raised voices, using phrases like 'headstrong woman' and 'right royal imbecile'. I explained to you that it was only a disagreement and not a fight, after which you made us swear that we had never really fought, nor would we ever do it in future._

_I can honestly say we have upheld the second part of that promise. As for the first part, well, back then it was still early days and after that argument on the cliff we fought at least three times a day, probably more. We disagreed on everything two people can possibly disagree on and we never hesitated to voice those opinions either. In the end we had almost come to a point where I would have disagreed with him if he told me it was raining, even as it was soaking me._

_Fortunately, it never actually came to that (for which I am eternally grateful), but we came close, very close. And the day Gandalf and Thorin got into an argument was no exception…_

**Thorin**

The sun was already starting to set by the time they came upon the first spot that might serve as a camping place. Most of the members of the company's moods were bordering on grumpy because of exhaustion. Thorin would not deny that he had forced them to maintain a pace that was faster than the woman and the hobbit could deal with. It even was hard on some of the other, older members. But Thorin didn't care. Before he had let himself be led by the need to go easy on the two unwelcome additions to the company, but ever since that argument he had with Miss Andrews – he refused to call her by her first name, because that might imply that they liked each other, which they didn't – he had thrown that attitude out of the window. He had not gone on this quest to be nice to stray hobbits and human women. He had gone on this quest to reclaim his homeland and reclaim it he would, rather sooner than later.

This place had some kind of clearing in front of a ruined house. By the looks of it, it was a bit burned, but that could have all kinds of reasons. He was quite sure no one had been living here for quite some time, so it should be safe as a camping ground.

'We'll camp here for the night,' he decided.

He began issuing orders to the rest of the company, even as Gandalf went to explore the ruined house. The company dismounted, making camp as if they hadn't been doing anything else all their lives. Loath as he was to admit it, both the woman and the hobbit went about their chores without complaint, making themselves useful. The rest of the company actually seemed to have accepted their presence. Some of them obviously still disagreed about the need of their presence, as did Thorin, but they didn't shun them either. Balin relieved a pony of his luggage as Bilbo kept the animal in place and Kate and Bofur were getting a fire going, laughing over some joke Fíli had just made.

Troublesome woman. If he was really honest Thorin had to admit she hadn't lied when she had told them she could survive in the wild and she was even taking fighting lessons, given by several members of the company. Her efforts were laughable, but an effort she did make. And he didn't like it, not at all, not when he would like nothing more than for her to be a complete failure so that he had a good reason for sending her away. Yet for one reason she was determined not to give him one. He had no clue as to what her motives were, but he strongly suspected her to be doing it only to annoy him. And if that was the case, she was definitely succeeding.

The company was completely at ease, joking, laughing even, as they built up the camp. Now that they were done traveling for the day, energy seemed to return to them. If Thorin knew them at all they would make some music and tell stories around the fire tonight to pass the time. Normally he would love that himself, but not now. Ever since the quest had started he had found that he was too restless to participate in such frivolities. So now he spent the nights on his own, planning and thinking about the kingdom he had lost. Thinking about Erebor kept his mind on the task ahead. It helped him to focus, to see the bigger picture.

He was pondering this as he heard Gandalf mutter to himself. 'A farmer and his family used to live here,' the wizard said.

Something in his voice told Thorin that there was something the matter. He made for the house, giving Gandalf a quizzical look.

'I think it would be wiser to move on,' Gandalf answered the unspoken question of what was going on. He threw in his own idea as to where they should be going directly afterwards. 'We could make for the hidden valley.'

Thorin frowned. How long had he been waiting to make that suggestion? The tone in his voice betrayed that he had been thinking about this before and that he had wanted them to go there from the first moment. He had already been playing at it back in the Shire.

'I have told you already: I will _not_ go near that place,' he snarled at the wizard. And Gandalf would do well to remember that.

'Why not?' If Thorin hadn't known better, he'd have said that the wizard was genuinely surprised at that answer. 'The elves could help us! We could get food, rest, advice!'

That answer was so ridiculous that he might have laughed at it, had the situation not been that serious. Help, from the elves? When had the elves ever helped him, or his kin? All they were good for was standing by, watching, as other people, _his_ people, suffered. 'I do not need their advice,' he snapped at the taller man. He had thought it before, and now he thought it again: Gandalf was trying to gain leadership over this quest. He had no idea why and he had no idea how it had come so far already, but he had just about enough of it. Yes, he appreciated the wizard's help on the journey and he would never claim that they didn't need him, but that didn't mean he could call the shots around here. Thorin was still the one in charge and he got the feeling Gandalf conveniently overlooked that fact whenever it suited him.

'We have a map that we cannot read,' the wizard pointed out. 'Lord Elrond could help us.'

That may be true, but Thorin refused to believe that Lord Elrond was the only one who knew how to read that map. And his own point still stood: he would not for the life of him go willingly to an elven settlement. There was just too much history between their two races for him to be comfortable with that.

'Help?' he repeated in a tone that anyone who knew him would describe as dangerous. 'A dragon attacked Erebor and what help came from the elves? Orcs plunder Moria, desecrate our sacred halls and the elves looked on and did nothing!'

Every time he thought about that, it hurt again as fierce as if it had happened only yesterday. A more rational part of his mind said that no one in his senses could have expected of them to ride with them into battle against a dragon, but they could have offered them food and shelter after the attack. His people had been driven from their home with what few possessions they had been able to grab before disaster struck. They had been left homeless, with nowhere to go, with hardly any food or water. The elves had been there, had looked upon them as they fled from the dragon's anger. They could have offered them hospitality, help in finding a new place to live. They could have treated the wounded, fed the hungry and offered them protection for a while. Instead they had watched and then turned away as he had called out to them, begging them for their help. And for that betrayal Thorin wasn't sure he'd ever forgive them.

He walked at Gandalf, the anger all renewed. 'You would ask me to seek out the help of the very people who betrayed my grandfather, who betrayed my father?' Gandalf must be insane to even think it.

The wizard looked at him with something that might be described as a mix between pity and irritation. 'You are neither of them.'

_No, but they were my kin and I was there when the elves abandoned us._

'I did not give you that map and key for you to hold on to the past.' The irritation in Gandalf's voice won out. The words were snappy and impatient, as if Thorin was some kind of stubborn child he needed to lecture.

His temper, that had already arrived at an all-time low, now snapped completely. 'I did not know that they were yours to keep!' Those objects had belonged to his people and only Durin knew what that meddling wizard had done with them in the many years that he had been "safekeeping" them.

The wizard's irritation got the better of him. He shot Thorin an impatient look and then turned on his heels, literally marching away.

'Everything all right?' the hobbit asked, which sounded like a rather stupid question to the dwarf king. 'Gandalf, where are you going?' There was a sense of fear in his tone.

'Seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense.' That tone was easier to explain than the hobbit's. The wizard was furious.

'And who's that?' Mr Baggins wondered, confused.

'Myself, Mr Baggins!' Gandalf didn't even turn around to look at them. 'I've had enough of dwarves for one day.'

_And I have had enough of wizards. _Deciding not to pay the incident any more mind, he called over to Bombur to prepare them some supper, before turning and looking for a quiet spot in the ruined house that would give him some privacy. The roof wouldn't do much to stop any rain, but the weather had been bright for days and he didn't think that was about to change anytime soon.

'Mr Oakenshield?' The only female voice around here was the thing that pulled him from his musing in the end.

He looked up at her, realising more time than he had thought had passed. The light was fading now, colouring the sky above his head in reds and purples. Miss Andrews had come in, holding his steaming dinner in one hand and a mug of ale in the other.

'Miss Andrews,' he acknowledged. 'You can put that on the ground.' _And then you can clear out as fast as you can._

Of course he should have known that he wouldn't get rid of her that easily. 'I'm not your servant,' she told him indignantly, putting his dinner on the ground nonetheless. Thorin knew for a fact that she disliked being in his company as much as he disliked being in hers.

He glared at her. 'Was there something else or are you done?' he inquired with every impression of being utterly bored.

He regretted that question the very next second. She had already half turned away from him, but she stopped and came back as soon as he spoke. 'As a matter of fact, yes, there is something I'd like to discuss.'

Would it be too late to ask her to leave?

It definitely was. 'I agree with Gandalf,' she told him, arms folded across her chest as if she was bracing herself for his imminent wrath. But yet she remained where she was, obviously determined to get it off her chest. 'We shouldn't be lingering here.'

He felt his eyes narrow in suspicion. 'Are you telling me we should seek refuge with the elves as well?' he demanded, his dislike of her growing by the second.

'I am saying no such thing,' she told him. 'I'm only saying we shouldn't linger here. If you really want to know, I think we should move right now, before we can run into trouble.' Something had definitely unsettled her, even Thorin could see that and he silently cursed that wizard's ability to make people worry over nothing.

'Are you siding with Gandalf?' It seemed unlikely, but stranger things had happened. And the wizard was after all her only chance to ever get back to her own world again. No matter how much she disliked that man, she would probably not want to turn him against her, not with him being what she had called her return-ticket.

Her eyes now narrowed as well, but not in suspicion. It was anger, he realised. 'Yes, you pig-headed buffoon,' she hissed, bending over and keeping her voice low as to not alert the others of their umpteenth argument of the week. 'That's exactly what I'm doing. And if you had an ounce of brains underneath all that hair, so would you! Do you think this house was ruined all on its own?'

He was used to her insults by now. Pig-headed buffoon wasn't even original anymore and her insulting his intelligence was no news either. It were her last words that made the tiniest bit of sense. 'It could have been a house fire,' he replied in as condescending a voice as he could manage.

Kate pointed at the roof that looked like it had been smashed to pieces. 'That doesn't look like a fire to me,' she said. 'Listen, I know this place is bad. It's in the bloody story.' She seemed frustrated now, throwing her hands in the air, clearly searching for the right words. 'I don't know how to explain it and I know it sounds… well, _creepy_ is the word, I guess, but I recognise this place.' He corrected himself. She wasn't frustrated, she was anxious.

That did however not mean he believed a word she said, especially not now that she had brought the dreaded book into the conversation. He glared at her again. 'I will not let my actions be guided by some book from another world,' he snarled at her. He didn't remember jumping to his feet, but when he checked again, he had.

'Then why do you even keep me around?' she demanded. 'Last time we had an argument about this subject you seemed to think that that book was awfully accurate. You _know_ I am right about this.'

She shouldn't have said that last sentence. What little willingness to at least listen to what she had to say there had been, it vanished immediately. 'I know nothing about that book,' he growled at her. 'And I don't want to hear another word about it. Not now, not ever, do you understand?'

Her eyes were sparking with rage and defiance. 'Or what?' she demanded, an obvious challenge.

'Or I'll leave you on the spot and let you worry about how you will ever get home again.' He knew that was unfair, but he could not care less. Part of him, a rather big part to be honest, yearned to make good on that threat right here and now.

She staggered back as if he had physically hit her, the anger instantly replaced with intense fear. He had found her weak spot. Kate swallowed visibly, trying to regain some control over herself, but Thorin didn't exactly make it any easier on her, staring at her with the iciest look he could manage.

In the end she recovered herself. She straightened her back, lifted her head and shot him a look of the utmost contempt. 'Fine,' she snapped in that all too familiar tone. 'If it's your life ambition to get caught by a bunch of hungry trolls, that's all up to you. Just don't come running to me when you get into trouble.' She marched out before he had the chance to react.

Thorin sat himself down again and began to eat, allowing a small smirk to grace his features. Running to her to solve his problems? Over his dead body!

**Kate**

Kate sat herself down near the campfire, silently accepting a bowl of stew from Bombur. The rest of the group was cheerful, despite Gandalf's sudden departure, and were joking and laughing as if nothing was the matter. And at that very moment, nothing was wrong yet, not for them anyway.

Kate ate her stew in silence, pondering over the absurdity of the situation. This was the first time she could have really made use of the knowledge she had of the story. The point was that Gandalf had never really explained to her what her task was. She had been introduced as some kind of advisor, but even that remained incredibly vague to her. What was she supposed to be advising them about?

She thought that she had done well in warning Thorin about the danger the trolls represented, even though she might have put it not as eloquently as she had intended. But she had informed him and he had told her in no uncertain terms that she should keep her mouth shut. It was up to him now whether he would act on the information he had. Kate was currently too pissed off to really care about the trolls anyway. And even then, she knew they would survive the incident, so she would not put up a big fight about something like this. She would just stay far away from those monstrous creatures.

Her mind inevitably drifted back to home and the familiar worry about what happened back there. By now there would be a search for her, leaving her family worried. Maybe even her grumpy boss would feel slightly concerned. She smiled a bit as she tried to imagine Harold Eastwood being concerned for anyone. As far as she knew the only thing he was concerned about was the fact that she wasn't there to do her job. Her personal wellbeing was not of any interest to him.

'I'd like to hear a story,' one of the dwarves announced. It was dark, so she couldn't see it all that well, but she thought it may have been Dori.

There was some muttered agreement around the fire, followed by a 'Don't you know any good tales, lass?' from Bofur.

Kate produced an apologetic smile. 'I'm not really the storytelling type, I'm afraid.'

For a moment he seemed disappointed, but then a smile lit up his face. 'You can tell us something about yourself,' he proposed. 'You know everything there is to know about us, but you haven't really told us something about you, apart from how you got that scar on your neck.'

He was right, and she knew it. Thinking about home was painful at the very least, so she had smothered every attempt the dwarves had made to get her to talk about herself, all the while learning about them, their personalities and their histories. Come to think of that, it was unfair that they did all the sharing while she behaved like a stubborn oyster, refusing to share her stories.

She decided to be honest. 'I'd rather not,' she confessed. 'I don't even know if I'll ever be home again and it hurts to think about them. Right now, they're probably worried sick for me and I just can't stand that thought!' A few treacherous tears were close to spilling over.

Balin, seated somewhere to her right, leaned over Bifur to pat her knee, the only part he could reach. 'Maybe it helps to talk about it. Share the load with us.'

'I seriously doubt you'd want that. After all, I am only a burden to this company.' The words came spilling out of her mouth without thinking, the frustration over the conversation with Thorin still present in her mind. He had made it more than clear what he thought about her.

Of course it was Balin that understood exactly what she was talking about. 'Now don't get us mixed up, lassie. And Thorin doesn't mean it like that. The lad has a lot on his mind right now.'

There was again some muttered agreement.

Kate frowned. 'If you say so,' she said, unconvinced, but deciding to drop the subject. It wasn't worth the trouble.

At least the dwarves seemed reassured. 'So, tell us something,' Ori said.

She sighed and then gave in. Knowing them as she did, she knew they were unlikely to back off now. 'What do you want to know?'

'Do you have siblings?' Bofur asked.

_Let the interrogation begin_, she thought sarcastically before answering. 'Only one, a brother. His name's Jacko and he's my twin. But we don't look anything alike at all.' Somehow Balin's advice had been spot on. It did help to talk, to remember the good things, not just the bad. 'I don't really see him much these days. He's busy trying to make career as a politician, so he lives on the other side of the country now.'

This inevitably led to further questions about politics in her world and Kate answered them as best as she could. Talking did help to pass the time and gradually Thorin's anger at her and the troll problem disappeared to the back of her mind.

'So, what about your parents?' Balin asked at some time. 'Are they still alive?'

'Yes, although I don't really see my father anymore,' she replied, determined not to waste too many words on that subject. The less said about John Andrews, the better. 'I used to live with my mother until two years ago. Now I've got a place of my own, sharing it with a close friend, but I still see her a lot.'

At this, people frowned. 'Your parents don't live together?' Glóin asked.

_Divorce must not be a common thing around here_, she observed. 'No, not anymore,' she replied truthfully. 'My dad's a jerk. He cheated on my mother a lot, so in the end she kicked him out. That was about ten years ago. I haven't really seen him much since.' She shrugged. 'That's all there is to it, really. No big deal.' Of course, it was a big deal. For years she had struggled with her anger and the never answered question of how her dad had been capable of doing that to them. But her anger had apparently failed to affect him and in the end he had all but disappeared off the radar altogether. As a matter of fact she didn't even know where he lived these days and with a shock she realised that she could no longer really care about it either.

By the looks of things, she had shocked them. The company stared at her, even those that had still not really accepted her presence. And oh dear, did she hate those looks. She had seen them too many times already.

'And you can stop looking at me like that!' she snapped, louder than had been necessary. 'I'm not some sad stray puppy. Believe it or not, where I come from, this is almost normal.' As unfortunate and unfair as it may be. 'I can handle it and to be quite honest, it is none of your business.' She drew up her legs and wrapped her arms around them, almost as if to protect herself.

She was quite sure they would have gone on about it until they knew every detail of that story – they were nosy dwarves after all – but fortunately, or perhaps not so fortunately, Fíli came and saved her from them. The king's nephew came storming into the camp, looking positively horrified.

'What's the matter, lad?' Dwalin asked, already on his feet.

'Trolls,' Fíli replied. 'They stole a few of the ponies and now Mr Baggins is going to try and steal them back.'

Kate moaned, but everyone was too angry and busy to notice.

'Where are they?' Kate hadn't noticed when Thorin had joined them, but when she looked over her shoulder he was standing only half a metre behind her. He looked determined and far too calm for the situation. Sometimes she wondered if he somehow had ice water instead of blood in his veins. Even his anger felt like ice.

'Just on the other end of the trees,' Fíli reported, his uncle's calm determination seeming to help him to calm down as well. 'Kíli stayed behind to keep an eye on the burglar.'

Thorin didn't even need to give orders. The company was already on their feet, but Kate was unsure of what to do. She didn't fancy a run-in with a bunch of hungry trolls, even while she knew from the story that she would live to tell the tale, but on the other hand it might reflect badly on her if she stayed behind now. The company would most likely interpret it as cowardice. And there wasn't any real danger, she told herself. If she wanted to be accepted by these dwarves, it would seem she had to make an effort.

But the decision wasn't up to her. Kate had half risen, when someone grabbed her arm. She turned around and found herself face to face with an angry Thorin. But since that seemed to be his default setting, she wasn't surprised. 'Where do you think you're going?' he hissed at her.

Her anger, that had been dormant while she had been talking with the company, flared back to life. 'Going for a late night swim in the river,' she replied sarcastically.

The sarcasm only served to enrage him further. 'You are not going anywhere,' he told her. 'I will not have you get in our way.'

While this was a good assessment of her usefulness in a fight, the words were spoken in such a condescending tone that Kate couldn't help but react. 'I am trying to help you!' she protested. Ugh, why could she never have a conversation with this dwarf that didn't result in her wanting to hit him?

'You won't help us by being there.' The tone in his voice made it quite clear that this was not up for discussion. 'So, you'll stay here and make yourself useful in our absence.'

'Fine!' she snapped. 'Have fun with your trolls then. But don't expect me to come to the rescue when you get yourself caught.'

His eyes narrowed. He too must remember they had been discussing, or well arguing was the better word, over this only an hour or two ago. And he must be realising that she had spoken the truth about the trolls. But if she understood him at all, he would rather be eaten by those monsters than admit that.

'Stay here,' he repeated and then he let go of her, beckoning his men to follow him.

'See you after dawn!' she yelled at his retreating back, unable to keep herself from saying something.

The nerve of that man was really unbelievable. What was his problem with her and the book anyway? If he had half a brain he must realise that this book could be a blessing. It would help them cope with the problems ahead, because they would know about them before they occurred. They might even be able to avoid some of the problems in their entirety.

Kate sat herself at the campfire, trying to distract herself, but somehow her thoughts kept wandering back to the company. Would they already have been captured? Would they really be all right?

_Of course they are_, she told herself firmly. _You know the story. They'll be just fine._

But she discovered that night that there was a great difference between knowing and seeing things for herself. With her head she knew that they would not be having the time of their lives right now, but they would be all right. Bilbo would stall for time and then Gandalf would come to the rescue and everyone would be just fine.

But that was her head. Her heart was worrying to such an extent that at a certain moment she had trouble thinking about anything else. She told herself that was ridiculous. More than half of the company didn't even like her. As far as she knew she didn't even count as a real member. But then, they had been concerned for her when she had mentioned her family situation and she didn't believe that had been an act. And what if the trolls didn't do what they were supposed to do in the story? What if they were really hungry? What if Bilbo failed to distract them? What if they were already dead?

The scenarios playing out in her head got all the more horrible as time passed, effectively blocking out the voice of reason and she started to feel bad about herself. What was she even doing here? She should be helping them, doing something, _anything_, not sitting here and warm her feet by the fire!

'Oh, bugger those dwarves!' she hissed, angry at herself as well as them. The restlessness won out and she got to her feet.

Someone had left a sword at the fire and she had a pocket knife stuffed away in her bag. She grabbed both and then went after the company, keeping up a sotto voce stream of curses as she did so, unable to decide who she was more angry with: the dwarves, Gandalf or herself. But sitting back and waiting for things to work themselves out wasn't really an option either, no matter how much she might want that. She just wasn't at ease knowing her friends were in trouble.

_Hang on a second, did I just refer to them as friends?_ That thought stopped her dead in her tracks. They weren't friends. Oh, well, who was she fooling? Some of them were. Kíli and Fíli had always been perfectly friendly in their behaviour and the same was true for Ori. Balin had treated her as if she was a younger family member and even the others had been polite at the very least. _Shit, the only one to treat me like garbage is that arrogant excuse for a king_.

This thought wasn't particularly helpful, at all. It only succeeded in ruling out every thought she might still have entertained about going back.

'Well done, girl,' Kate complimented herself sarcastically. 'You let them get close and now you even bloody care for them!'

And when on earth had that happened? True, she had been trying to get them to see her as an useful addition to the party, but at the same time she had been trying to keep her distance. It may not have been intentional, but she had done it all the same, because her main concern was getting home. And that was still on the top of her list of priorities, but clearly it didn't mean that she couldn't help these dwarves while she was at it.

'What a freaking mess,' she muttered for the umpteenth time since she had arrived as she started to make her way through the bushes. She could see the light in the distance and hear voices.

_What on earth did I get myself into?_ She had been asking herself that question more than once since this adventure had started and doubtlessly she would ask it again countless more times.

She sneaked closer, her hand gripping the sword so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Common sense tried to tell her that this was a bad idea, a very bad idea, but she blocked it out. Since when had she listened to that anyway?

For a moment she feared that the trolls might see her as she sneaked into their camp, taking care to stay away from the light and behind trees and bushes as much as she could, but she shouldn't have bothered. The monsters had concerns of a completely different nature. As Kate had already feared they were far too busy preparing dinner, consisting of dwarf-and-hobbit-in-sack.

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From Kate's notebook: _I am having an I-told-you-so-experience here._

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**Next time: more trolls! In the meantime, please review?**


	8. Chapter 8 Reckless

**Hello dear readers. Here's the next chapter for you. As always, enjoy and please review. I really like the feedback.**

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**Chapter 8**

**Reckless**

_It should not have come as a surprise to me to find my companions either on a spit over the fire or tied up in sacks thrown in a heap on the ground, and it wasn't. Maybe I had been hoping for another outcome, but I had not been expecting it._

_The real question was: what to do next? If the story was right, then everything would work itself out in the end without my interference. Deep down I knew that it would. Probably. It was that small chance that maybe this would not turn out as fine as I hoped that urged me into staying, even though it was not clear to me yet what I had to do, that was if I had to do anything at all._

_And so I waited…_

**Thorin**

This had been a bad idea.

It was a bit of a shame that this thought only occurred to Thorin when he had already been tied up, put into a sack, waiting to be cooked by the very monsters that troublesome woman had warned him about. But he was trying not to think about that at the moment. If he would get out of this alive, then doubtlessly she would rub it in until he had to admit that she had spoken the truth.

But the survival part of that scenario didn't seem all that likely now. He was pretty sure those trolls were about to cook them all, he had no idea where Gandalf was and he himself had been the one to order Kate to remain in the camp. There would be no help coming and he wasn't in the position to do anything useful at all.

He didn't think he had ever been so helpless in his entire life. Even when Smaug had taken Erebor, he had a sword in his hand. Now his sword lay on the big pile of weapons on the other side of the fire.

No, this was definitely the worst luck he had ever had. A small voice in the back of his head wondered what Kate's book would have to say on the matter. If that wasn't proving how desperate things were, he wouldn't know what would. For the past weeks he had carefully avoided thinking about that book, afraid of its contents. Hoping to avoid it from coming true he had forced it to the back of his mind.

But of course it would choose this very moment to get into his head again. Stranger than that even, he welcomed it, because Kate had never mentioned that the trolls were going to eat them. In fact he recalled her saying something along the lines of seeing them all after dawn.

Dawn, of course. It couldn't be too far off now, if he had reckoned right. The storytelling at the campfire must have gone on until well after midnight and since it wouldn't be too long before summer would arrive, the days were long. Dusk came late and dawn came early. If only they could stall for more time… But since he had actually no idea how to do that, they were back at square one.

But he was Thorin Oakenshield and he would not go down without a fight. It was below him. There had to be _something_ he could do.

He hadn't even finished that thought when he saw it: a pair of eyes looking into the trolls' camp from a safe hiding place. They were taking in the situation, studying every detail with an intense stare. At first he had no idea who that person was. None of his men was unaccounted for and as far as he knew there weren't many people traveling the wild besides them, except maybe a few rangers, but they usually stayed away from trolls. It was just his company that was stupid enough to literally run into those monsters.

Then he saw the fire reflected on a mass of reddish brown curls as the person they belonged to shifted and he knew her: Kate. He shouldn't be surprised to find that she had once again completely disregarded his orders and had followed them. But part of him, and he was as of yet unsure as to how big that part actually was, was idiotically glad to learn of her presence here.

She glanced in his direction and caught his gaze. For a moment she seemed panicked, but then she crawled a little forward so he could see the rest of her face. Unfortunately, if the trolls turned around, they would be seeing her as well. She was painfully exposed and clearly totally unaware of it.

The question as to what she had to do was clear as daylight on her face. Thorin didn't have much of an idea either, so he settled for a mouthed: 'Get here.' The order was strengthened by some movements of his head – the only part of his body that he was currently able to move – as he first looked at her and then jerked his head backward, the equivalent of beckoning someone closer with their finger.

The puzzled look on her face told him she had no clue as to what in Durin's name he was trying to convey. 'What. The. Hell?' she mouthed back at him. His lip-reading wasn't spectacular, but he had come to know her favourite phrases quite well and he had the added bonus of knowing exactly what the look on her face meant.

So he repeated the gesture, taking care that none of the trolls saw it, and repeated, slowly this time: 'Get. Here.'

This time she did understand. It didn't mean that she was happy about it, though. Her eyes were full of disbelief first, but when she realised that he meant it, they turned rather angry. She mouthed something at him, what exactly he could not see, because it was both too fast and too long. Thorin imagined it to be something like 'Are you trying to get me killed?' or, slightly more probable, 'Are you out of your bloody mind?' though.

'Get. Here,' he repeated.

She threw him another incredulous look. 'How?'

This long distance communication was far less reliable than Thorin would have liked. But then, so was Kate's help. He had witnessed her fighting lessons and he wasn't convinced she could even harm someone when she tried, let alone take on three monstrous mountain trolls. But right now, the human woman was also the only option they had and he wasn't too proud to go ahead and take the offered help. Beggars can't be choosers after all.

He made a motion that meant _go round the camp by that way and stay out of sight_, but since that wasn't going to do the job all on its own he added an 'Go. Round.' for good measure.

This time he did catch the answer. 'You. Have. Got. To. Be. _Joking_.'

_No, I'm not. Now get a move on_. Of course she would never understand it when he said that. Talking in one word sentences seemed to be the only way to get a message across at the moment. 'Get. Here,' he repeated once more. He was all too aware that his men, the men he was personally responsible for, were being roasted on a spit as they were talking. Kate was being obstructive and uncooperative. Thorin had known for a while that she cared nothing about them, him least of all, but he didn't think she could leave them at the trolls' mercy either. Her very being her proved that.

The look in her eyes told her she wished him a slow and painful death, but she began to make her way to him nonetheless, using the bushes for cover. The trolls were too busy arguing about the best ways to cook dwarf and were therefore too preoccupied to notice the small human woman sneaking around their camp. And his own companions were too preoccupied by their horrible situation to have even noticed the arrival of the fifteenth company member.

It was for the first time that Thorin started to feel something that approached respect for her. Kate had not lied to them when she had said she knew how to survive in the wild. She was quiet, quick and took care to avoid snapping twigs as she moved. In this situation the dwarf king didn't think the trolls would hear her, but it was wise to be careful.

'What on earth did you think you're doing?' came a low hiss from his left.

'I could ask the same of you.' He turned his head in her direction, glancing back at his captors every few seconds. He lay some small distance away from the rest of the group, far enough it would seem not to distract them from their loud protests and vain attempts to wriggle free.

She huffed. 'You didn't think I could actually sit there and warm my feet by the fire knowing you lot were about to be turned into trolls' dinner, did you?'

As a matter of fact he would not have put it past her. 'Didn't you say something about seeing us all after dawn?' he demanded, not responding to her question.

She raised her eyebrows. 'Now don't tell me you suddenly believe me.'

He fixed her with his sternest glare.

'Fine,' she muttered. 'According to both versions of the tale Gandalf should be here in time. Right now the events seem to be following the movie. So if Bilbo can keep them talking, we should be all right.'

His mind effortlessly registered the most important word in that speech. '_Should_?' he hissed. 'Aren't you sure?'

'No, I'm not,' she admitted, not meeting his eyes. 'Remember that night at the cliff, when we had that massive fight?' He nodded – how could he forget? – and she went on: 'You were meant to strut back into the camp after Balin's tale, but you didn't. I don't think the real events always follow the story, not to the letter anyway.'

This didn't do anything to improve his mood, or their chances for that matter, at all. 'Do you mean we could get eaten before help arrives?'

Kate's lips were only a thin, disapproving line as she shot him a dark look. 'What does that make of me, I wonder?' she said under her breath. She continued, a little louder: 'What would you have me do then?'

Thorin risked another glance at the trolls, but they were still not looking at them. Quite frankly, he didn't have much of a plan. There was one slowly forming in the back of his mind, but time was running out. As much as he hated this, he might be dependent on Kate's help and maybe even her knowledge. 'Should I not be asking you that question?' The words had left his mouth before he had really thought about them.

Her eyebrows shot up again. 'Are you asking me to use my knowledge of the story?'

'Yes,' he hissed back at her. He hated to say the word, but he'd be damned if he let his pride get in the way of their rescue. He was responsible for this company and their lives were worth more than his pride. He would swallow it if there was any chance of this woman and her book getting them out of here.

Kate thought about that for a second and then nodded. 'Right. Bilbo!'

The call was hushed as to not alert the trolls, but the hobbit had heard her. He looked up and a relieved look appeared in his eyes.

'Kate!' That was definitely too loud. The other dwarves in the heap now also turned to look at her.

The woman put a finger against her lips, telling them to be silent. Thorin more or less told them the same thing by sending them a glare that might have killed them on the spot if looks had that power.

'It's all right,' Kate told them. 'I'm going to try and get you out, but I need you, Bilbo, to distract those ugly bastards over there for a while.'

Bilbo shot her a quizzical look. 'How do I do that?'

Kate's face looked like she wished him a slow and painful death. 'Think of something,' she snapped. 'Keep them busy about the best ways to cook a dwarf. That'll keep that lot interested.' She shot him another irritated look. 'Oh, and the secret to cooking dwarf is to eat them hairless. Tell them the hair makes the danger of choking all that much greater. It would be a great idea to shave them first.'

Mr Baggins looked positively scared out of his mind, but at least he got up and hopped over into the line of sight of the trolls.

Thorin turned his back on Kate. 'Cut the sack open from behind,' he instructed her. That way the trolls wouldn't notice that something was amiss right away, even if they did look at them. What's more was that his body shielded Kate from sight. Those beasts wouldn't know she was there.

'Will do,' she replied. For once she apparently didn't feel the need to argue and for that he was glad. Now that they had a huge crisis to face they seemed to have some kind of truce, but Thorin had no illusions about the length of it. As soon as they were out of danger, they would continue as before, because nothing had really changed between them.

Thorin could feel her carefully cutting open the sack from behind and he tried not to think about the fact that her knife was awfully close to his neck right now. It was not that he really believed her capable of murdering him, but things were bad enough between them for him not to be comfortable with her holding a knife so close to his person.

To distract himself, he asked her a question. 'Why is the secret to cooking dwarf to shave them?' he demanded. He didn't think she was trying to humiliate them all, not really. She would be unaware of their customs, wouldn't know that being hairless was rather shameful for one of their race. That was what he thought at least. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little suspicious about it.

Kate was working her way down the length of his back now. 'It sounded like a better idea than what Bilbo came up with in the story,' she answered. 'He thought that skinning the lot of you was the best way. I thought I'd better provide him with a less harmful alternative.'

The sack was cut open down to his waist now, and since he was sitting, she could go no further. So, she moved the knife. First he had no idea where it had gone, but then he felt the cold steel at his wrists. 'What are you doing, woman?' he growled.

The reply was a snort, followed by the cutting of the bonds around his wrists. 'Murdering you in cold blood,' came the sarcastic spoken reply. 'With a bit of luck Bilbo can convince them of the shaving plan,' she added as an afterthought.

Thorin, now getting out of the sack as inconspicuously as he could, turned to face her, a frown in his forehead. 'Why would you want that?' he questioned. Could it be that she had somehow learned how humiliating that could be? He had believed that she had at least started to take some liking to the rest of the company, even if she hated him, but it would seem that he had been wrong about that.

A smirk graced her features and she shrugged. 'Well, to shave them, they need to remove them,' a head gesture in the direction of the fire and the spit above it, 'from the spit first. Who knows, they may even need to untie them.' If she had heard Thorin's wariness at all, she didn't show it.

Grudgingly he had to admit that her plan was not as ridiculous or stupid as he had first thought. If she had been any other than who she was, he might even have told her so, might even have admired her for thinking up the plan that might just save them all. Because, to be quite honest, he was not going to let it all come down to whether or not Gandalf would show up in time. Kate seemed to think that he would, but Thorin Oakenshield had not stayed alive as long as he had by being a fool. Her certainty was nothing but a mask. She wasn't so sure of her precious story as she would like to make him believe.

And neither was he. Dawn was still an hour away, at the very least, and all of them could be dead by then if they didn't do something about it. They might still die, no matter what, but he would go down fighting.

Kate cut open the sack of the dwarf nearest to them, which happened to be Balin. She then turned back to Thorin. 'What now?' she hissed.

Thorin glanced around. Mr Baggins was keeping the trolls occupied by his not too bad explanation as to why it would be a bad idea to eat dwarves with hair, but the dwarf king had no doubt that would not be sufficient for long.

An idea crept to the forefront of his mind…

**Kate**

This was a bad idea. Kate had known that from the very beginning, yet here she was, sneaking past some giant trolls in order to get her hands on the company's weapons. Thorin was right behind her, covering her back. Or that was what she liked to think anyway. Maybe it was her front that needed covering and was he using her as some kind of shield.

No matter which way you looked at it, she felt painfully exposed. A big part of her was already wishing she had just stayed in the camp, waiting for dawn to arrive. The prospect started to look more tempting with each passing second.

But then, leaving now was no longer an option. She had lost that possibility when she had left camp, against Thorin's orders. And of course it had only gotten worse since then. Releasing Thorin and giving her knife to the others so they could get away too, that had not been so bad. It was Thorin's idea of what should happen next that was the problem.

'You are insane,' she hissed at him for the umpteenth time in ten minutes. They were sneaking around the camp as she said this.

He met her glare with perfect icy indifference. 'I will not wait for a wizard who might not even show up,' he told her. 'Or do you now suggest I leave my men at the mercy of these monsters?'

It was more of a challenge than a real question and her impulsive side couldn't help but respond to it. 'Of course not!' she snapped, a little too loud perhaps.

In this case she really meant it, but this side of her had gotten her into trouble more than once. It was her flaw, she knew it, one that might well prove fatal one day. Once a challenge was put to her, she couldn't refuse, eager, almost desperate, to prove that she could keep up with the best of them. Thorin might as well have been suggesting she'd dance the tango in front of those trolls to distract them and she'd have agreed to do it. She would have regretted it the next second, but that was not the point. Fortunately for her, that was a part of her character he had not yet discovered.

'I'm not as heartless as you make me out to be,' she added in an angry whisper.

He at least had the decency to look a little ashamed, if only a little. It was apparently a part of the Oakenshield code not to show too much emotion. The man was a riddle wrapped up in a mystery, almost impossible to read. The only thing that was clear was that he absolutely loathed her. And part of her didn't understand his behaviour. Unreadable though he might be, one thing had been a constant thing these last few weeks: his complete and utter dislike of her. But now he behaved as if he suddenly thought she could be a valuable addition to the party. There was a kind of unspoken truce between them for the moment. No doubt he would go back to conveniently loathing her as soon as the crisis was over.

'I still think you're insane,' she told him for good measure.

Thorin's brilliant plan, if brilliant was the word that could be used for such a suicidal scheme, was to get their hands on some weapons, then get two ponies and ride them as far away from this wretched camp, leading the trolls on a merry hunt, while their companions freed themselves in their absence.

In Kate's opinion there was a number of things terribly wrong with this plan. First, the trolls might not fall for it or they might simply think Thorin and Kate didn't really matter, second, there was just no way their ponies could outrun these creatures and three, they needed to get to the ponies first without being seen. All in all, Kate thought the plan more than a little reckless. She hadn't taken Thorin for a reckless fool. But then he had given himself and his men up for the life of a hobbit he didn't even care about and, what's more, he was planning on taking a huge mountain back from a fire-breathing, almost invincible monster with a company of fifteen persons, half of them not even warriors. Maybe she should not be so quick to dismiss the thought.

'Can't we just not go to the weapons first?' she pleaded. The pile was far too close to the monsters' cooking fire for her liking.

He fixed her with a stern glare. 'I do not have my sword,' he pointed out.

She snorted. 'Then take mine,' she snapped irritably.

'That's my spare sword,' he informed her.

'Then take it,' she insisted. 'I'm no good with it anyway.'

The expression on his face told her he wholeheartedly agreed with that statement. But he surprised her by shaking his head. 'I will not leave you defenceless.' The tone told her that this was one of those things that was non-negotiable. 'Stay here. I will go alone.'

With that he left her at the tree they had been hiding behind for the last half-minute, sneaking to the pile on his own. He left her with a lot of questions. Kate had known he could behave like a gentleman if he felt like it, but now was not exactly the time to be noble. And if he was insisting on being noble, then why to her? They had done nothing but fight for the last few weeks, all but biting each other's heads off. A mystery he was indeed.

Her attention focused on Bilbo, who was keeping the trolls busy still. It would have been comical to see him, tied up in a sack to his neck, all but lecturing trolls on their cooking skills, if this situation had not been so serious.

One of the trolls obviously wasn't buying it. 'What do you know about cooking dwarf?' he demanded.

Fortunately his friend, if trolls were capable of forming bonds of friendship, interrupted and requested Bilbo to go on, promoting him to the number one on Kate's list of which troll was the most stupid.

'You can't reason with them!' Dori shouted from his uncomfortable spot over the fire. 'They're halfwits!' That seemed a bit exaggerated to Kate. As far as she knew they didn't have any wits to begin with, let alone that they should be in the possession of as much as _half_ a wit.

Bilbo now looked a bit nervous, but he went on regardless. 'The secret to cooking dwarf is…' He seemed to have forgotten what they had agreed upon.

_If you tell them to skin the dwarves, then I'll swear to God I'll put you on that spit myself first chance I get_, she thought.

'Yes? Come on!' one of the trolls urged him impatiently. He leaned over, his face less than a metre away from Bilbo's, making the hobbit even more jumpy than he already was.

'I was getting there,' the hobbit managed to say, looking like he would like to do nothing more than to run for the hills without a second thought. The only thing holding him back probably was the sack. 'The secret to cooking dwarf is to shave them first!'

'At least the hobbit does as he is told,' a soft voice remarked behind her in a very patronising tone.

'Thorin!' That was definitely far too loud, but the protests the dwarves made to that suggestion drowned out her surprised shout. 'Stop doing that!' she added with a glare that had scared even her brother into shutting up. 'You'll scare me to death.'

The dwarf king was wholly unimpressed. 'That'll save the trolls the trouble.'

She was about to hit him, shout at him or do something else equally stupid when she realised that he had in fact been joking. Kate knew some warriors felt better if they joked whilst being in a dangerous situation, but she of course had no experience with that whatsoever. Right now, she found it strangely reassuring.

_As long there's humour, there's hope_, she told herself, managing a wry smile. 'Very funny,' she commented. 'Let's get this show on the road, shall we?' The sooner this was over, the better she would feel. Why, oh why had she not just trusted in the story and Gandalf?

But she knew that the story was next to no use in this case. Dawn wasn't even close yet, as it had been in the story. They would need something more than Bilbo's half coherent chatter to keep the trolls from cooking and eating every single one of them.

Thorin looked slightly puzzled at the unfamiliar expression, but he seemed to understand the general idea of it and that was what counted. He beckoned to the ponies he had already freed while she was keeping an eye on the burglar and she followed him, even as common sense argued the wisdom of that decision. And it would be right to do so, she knew that. Even her most reckless part shied away from doing something this rash.

But there was really no other choice. Somehow she was unable to sit back and do nothing while the others were still in danger. That had become clear the moment she had defied Thorin and had gone after the company she now, against her will, was a part of.

'Bugger those dwarves,' she muttered, not for the first time that night, as she climbed on the pony.

'Ready?' Thorin asked. He was still his usual charming nothing-can-ever-affect-me-self, sitting on his pony as if he was King under the bloody Mountain already.

'If you are,' she shot back with more certainty than she actually felt. _If I die in this, I'll haunt him for eternity_, she vowed.

The best way to pull this off was to not think about this. _Just pretend it's all a dream and that you'll wake up at the campfire or, better still, home if this goes belly-up_. It was a kind of escapism, and in her opinion therefore equal to cowardice, but at the moment she could not have cared less. It was her way of dealing with this living nightmare and heaven knew she was in need of that.

She didn't know why she was even doing this. She wasn't some kind of bloody action heroine. She was useless in a fight, more likely to hurt herself or the pony than the actual target, her horse-riding skills were too few to even mention and she didn't feel very courageous either. But yet here she was, about to pretend she was an action heroine side by side with the person she hated most. Well, not most; her father had the dubious honour of claiming that spot.

The pony was unsaddled and there were no reins for her to hold onto. So she buried her fingers in the animal's mane, determined not to let go of them. She knew she was in danger of falling off, but she blocked that thought out as well. It really wouldn't do to get a full-blown panic attack now.

_Lives depend on this_, she told herself sternly. _So stop being such a cry baby here_.

That realisation helped a little. The plan was still reckless, stupid and downright suicidal, but it helped to know that lives depended on it. It also made her realise she had been acting rather selfishly, whereas Thorin was being the noble self-sacrificing king. That made her look even worse.

'Let's do this,' she said. 'On the count of three?'

The dwarf nodded. 'One…'

'Two…' She allowed herself to believe that the slight tremor in her voice was only because of the night's chill.

'Three!'

And the adrenaline kicked in. Kate could feel her heart pounding in her ears, making the rest of the noises sound like coming from a radio on a very low battery, as she galloped into the camp, straight past the trolls. 'Hey, ugly bastards!' she heard herself yell. 'Want to bet you can't catch me?'

Next to her Thorin was bellowing some kind of battle cry in his own language and then they were out of the camp. Kate had no idea why she was shouting insult at hungry trolls, or where on earth she had found the courage to do so. She decided on blaming the adrenaline.

That seemed to be the culprit for a lot of things she had no other way of explaining for. She felt ridiculously alive and, probably wrongfully, invincible. The thrill of outwitting a bunch of trolls somehow felt completely brilliant, and not dangerous at all.

The pony didn't seem to share her optimistic attitude. It ran as fast as its legs could carry it, as did Thorin's pony. The dwarf himself seemed perfectly composed. The only hint that this was not just another day's march for him was the concentrated look in his eyes and the frown in his forehead.

Then she heard it: the footsteps. Her newfound courage left her the second she realised that they were far too close and far too heavy to be anything else than the trolls. And there were more than one of them, she was almost sure of that. The forest was being torn apart behind them. She could hear trees being broken as if they were nothing more than dry twigs.

The thrill made way for pure unadulterated terror. 'Faster!' she screamed.

The pony had no problem whatsoever with complying with that demand. The ears of the animal were lying flat against its skull and Kate could see the white of its eyes. A sideward glance learned her that Thorin wasn't as calm as he had been, although his expression could better be described as ice-cold hatred than fear. There must be something in the Oakenshield code about not showing fear, because there was just no way he was not just as scared as she was.

While this chase had been the whole point of this scheme, now that it was succeeding Kate found herself wishing she had never agreed to it. She leaned over the neck over her pony, almost willing it to run just a little faster. The trolls were closing in on them if the sound of breaking trees was any indication. She didn't think she had ever been so afraid in her life. It froze her into place, effectively preventing her from doing anything apart from clinging to her pony for dear life.

And then the pony was gone. One second she was on its back, racing for safety, and the next she was suddenly hovering in mid-air, the only thing preventing her from falling on the ground, that was suddenly several meters below her, a pair of thick fingers, attached to one monstrous troll that looked at her like she was his next meal.

From Kate's notes: _Oh, crap!_

* * *

**And on that happy note I'm going to leave you for now. Next chapter should be up next week and of course there's going to be more trolls then. **

**I really hope this thing worked out, because most of this wasn't planned originally. Please review to let me know what you thought? Love it, hate it?**


	9. Chapter 9 Stone-cold Breakfast

**Chapter 9**

**Stone-cold breakfast**

_If I thought I had been scared already when we were leading the trolls on the hunt, I was sorely mistaken. Being confronted with a troll's eye roughly the size of my entire face only a metre away from me was more than enough reason to make me almost pass out. I had no idea where Thorin had gone off to, but I could not care less at that particular moment. I was too busy worrying for myself._

_Oh, I can almost see some of your eyebrows shooting up as you read this. I remember you, Thráin, once telling one of your friends that your mother was never afraid of anything, after which you started telling the tale of how I used to kick said troll in the balls. I have no idea who told you the story – although I'm not ruling out your father's involvement in this one – but let me assure you, there is no truth whatsoever in that story._

_No, I'm afraid it was Thorin who was the real hero here. Well, he was trying to be the hero at least. The moment he had realised that I was no longer where I was supposed to be, he turned his pony, drew his sword and threatened the trolls with dire consequences if they didn't let me go immediately. This was as noble and brave as it was foolish and useless. The trolls just repeated the trick I knew them to have used before and threatened to have me torn apart if he didn't put down his weapon. And Thorin, once again, let go of his sword. _

**Kate**

_Shit_. That was about the only though Kate was capable of as she was tied to the spit over the trolls' campfire. _Shit, shit, _shit_!_

Why on earth had she even agreed to Thorin's rash plan? No, why had she even considered to go out of the camp to help the dwarves? She should have gone to sleep and then, when she woke in the morning, everyone would be back, telling her the tale of how they had only just managed to avoid being eaten by monstrous trolls and Kate would listen to them and make them breakfast.

_If only_, she thought wryly. Deep down she knew that things weren't that simple. She had no idea what exactly had gone wrong, but something here was definitely thoroughly messed up. Dawn had still not arrived, Gandalf was nowhere to be seen and Kate was by now one hundred percent convinced she would end up as troll's breakfast.

But at least the plan had worked. The dwarves had gone, with the exception of Bombur who had somehow managed to trip over his own feet and knock himself out cold against a tree trunk. So now it was just the three of them tied over the spit. Bombur, who had still to regain consciousness, had a spot for him alone because he was so fat, but Kate had ended up all but squashed into Thorin in a way many a fanfiction heroine would probably commit a murder for.

'So, what's next?' she hissed at the dwarf, unconsciously blaming him for all the mess they were in. If he had not insisted on that bloody rescue, they could all have been back in the camp by now. Or that was what she told herself anyway. Because how they would have saved the dwarves that had been tied to the spit was something of a mystery to her as well.

'Shouldn't I be asking you that question?' he shot back.

Annoying dwarf. 'Well, it may have escaped your notice, but I'm tied to the spit right now and I don't have a weapon anymore.'

'What does your book say?' he clarified.

She sighed in defeat. 'That we wait for Gandalf. But dawn can't be that far off now, can it?' She hated to hear the fear in her own voice. It showed in an uncontrollable trembling that Thorin, pressed against her as he was, surely must feel as well. As embarrassing as that was, she couldn't really bring herself to care. The fear of dying was too strong to allow any other feelings to make themselves known.

'It isn't,' Thorin replied. How he was capable of remaining so calm was beyond her, but she drew some strength from it. The dwarf was not afraid, so maybe there was no reason to.

_Don't be a fool_, some voice in the back of her head commented. _He's just not that afraid of dying as you are. He has faced it more times than you ever had or ever will._

That did nothing to stop her from trembling like a leaf in a storm. 'I'm scared.' The words escaped her mouth before she had given them permission to do so, no doubt triggered by the fact the troll chose that moment to turn the spit, leaving Kate facing down at the flames.

She could feel the fire's heat, gentle at first, but very soon it became too hot. She struggled in vain to get away from it, crying out when the ropes refused to give way. Sweat formed on her forehead, dripping down into the fire, that gave an angry hiss in reply.

'Hold still,' Thorin told her. 'You'll wear yourself out. Save your strength.'

'What for?' She couldn't help the fact that it came out in a whimper. At the moment she could not care less about how he thought about her. They would die soon anyway, so his good opinion, or the lack of it, was of no consequence to anyone.

'Dawn,' he replied. 'Gandalf will come.' The certainty in his voice might have fooled her into believing that, had she not still been looking at the flames down below.

'What if he doesn't?' It sounded childish, even to her own ears.

She felt a hand grip hers and hold it tightly. 'That question is of no relevance. He will come.'

The touch was strangely reassuring in a way. And it definitely helped that she was turned away from the fire in that very same moment, leaving poor Bombur to face the flames, even though he was still unaware of them. Kate knew she should be feeling sorry for him, but in that moment she could only be grateful that it was no longer her in that spot. It would seem that selflessness didn't last in the face of such danger. And while she knew this should make her feel really bad about herself, in this moment she could still only feel the relief.

She could feel the gentle breeze again, cooling her down considerably, allowing her to catch her breath and drive some of the worst panic away. Some of her common sense returned, telling her that dawn indeed could not be far off anymore. The sky was already a lighter shade of blue than it had been. Maybe, just maybe…

She squashed that thought immediately. She could not yet start to hope, not when it would be all too easy for that hope to die along with the three of them as soon as the trolls decided they were too hungry to wait for them to be properly cooked.

And unfortunately one of the trolls seemed to have heard that thought. 'No good roasting 'em now,' he said, although Kate was in no position to see which of the three had spoken. 'It'd take all night and dawn is close already. I don't fancy being turned to stone.'

Instead of trembling, her body went rigid at the sound of that. Even Thorin seemed to realise now how bad things had become. His grip on her hand tightened for a moment, before he remembered himself and loosened it again.

'It will be all right,' the dwarf repeated. Kate wasn't one hundred percent sure who he was talking to, though.

The other trolls began to get annoyed, or even more annoyed than they already were, because for some reason they had not liked it that most of their supper had just run off. 'Don't start an argument now, Bill,' a second troll spoke up in an irritated tone. 'Or it _will_ take all night!'

'Now, who's a-arguing?' yet another troll – or so Kate thought, because they sounded and looked all the same to her – demanded.

'You are!' it was shot back.

Somehow this sounded familiar to her. She fought back the panic just enough to let her mind work properly for a moment and the second she did, she could have wept with relief. It came out like a sob combined with laughter, causing Thorin to swivel his head in her direction, staring at her as if she had just lost her mind.

'What are you doing?' he hissed at her. If he had unleashed that icy stare on the fire, Kate was almost sure it would have extinguished it immediately.

She turned her head towards him, speaking in a low whisper to prevent the trolls from overhearing them. 'He's already here,' she informed him. 'Gandalf's already here. He's the one confusing them.'

Their faces were only inches apart, so she could see every detail of his disapproving and disbelieving expression. 'What are you talking about?'

'It's in the book.' Her relief at the wizard's presence had melted all her fear and panic away. Even though she was still not the Gandalf's biggest fan, it was reassuring that he was here to take care of the situation. He had already taken control, because at the moment there wasn't much cooking or roasting going on at all. The fire had not been fed for some time now and the trolls now stood facing each other, arguing in loud voices about what to do. 'The one you partially read. He'll keep them busy till sunrise.'

The change in her tone must have been noticed by him, because his eyebrows shot up. 'You are sure?'

She nodded best as she could with all those ropes still restricting her every movement. 'As far as I can hear they're even using the same words. We will be fine.' That realisation made it feel like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Someone else would take care of them now. She didn't need to worry anymore. 'We will be fine.'

Thorin apparently neither accepted nor rejected that theory. He only nodded to let her know he had heard her.

'So, you don't want to roast them, then let's boil them!' one of the trolls exclaimed.

This seemed to the others like the best plan and for a moment Kate was actually afraid for herself and her companions, but then the voice interjected again. 'No good boiling 'em,' it said. Now that Kate knew it to be Gandalf she could hear it as well. But one had to know and listen hard to make it out and she was not really surprised that the trolls had not yet figured it out. 'We ain't got no water and it's a long way down to the well and all.'

The smallest of smiles now also graced Thorin's features as he nodded. 'You're right,' he agreed. 'It is him.' He had spoken a bit louder to make himself heard over the trolls' now again bickering voices, but with them getting themselves into a full-blown argument again, that didn't matter anyway. They had never been really interested in their meal's conversation anyway and with their own problems being far more urgent they had lost all importance.

She nodded, but refrained from saying the 'I know' that was dying to come out of her mouth. They had finally come to some kind of truce and she was in no hurry to break it again so soon, especially as she was still tied against him, with their faces so close to one another's. So instead she settled for: 'You can hear it too?' Part of her was still afraid she was only imagining things, but if Thorin recognised Gandalf's voice too, that was no longer a possibility.

'I do,' he replied.

It occurred to Kate that he had more or less admitted, several times come to think of it, that her book wasn't totally rubbish. What's more, he had even asked her what was in the story when they had been wondering about what to do. The dwarf had definitely changed his tune.

The point was, Kate had too. She had seen too much this night to maintain the opinion that the book knew best. Up till tonight she had believed in the book above everything else, valuing it over her own common sense even. But the movie had proven to be only partially true and the book was the same story. If Gandalf had only come here now, that meant that, had she not intervened, all of the dwarves could have been dead by now.

And what did this make of her? Gandalf had introduced her as an omniscient one, but when it all came down to it, it would seem that she knew nothing at all. Or rather, she did know something, elements of the story, but she was unable to piece them together in the right way. The real events followed the movie at one point, the book at another and sometimes they had a will of their own, not fitting in with either.

_Oh, stop it!_ she told herself_. It will do you no good._

She searched the sky again, looking for evidence that dawn indeed was nearing, finding it as soon as she looked. The sky was considerately lighter than it had been only minutes ago. It now showed the pale light it always was just before the sun rose over the horizon.

'Only a few more minutes,' Thorin told her. If she hadn't known better she would have said he was trying to reassure her.

Kate nodded. 'I know.' She gave him a weak smile. Somehow, she didn't think she could go back to hating him, not really. You just couldn't be mortal enemies after an almost-got-eaten-by-three-mountain-trolls-experience.

'All right,' the nearest troll said. 'Then we'll sit on them and squash them. We can boil 'em later.'

This was met by some muttered agreement, followed by the logical next question: 'Who shall we sit on first?'

It was official now: trolls were the most stupid creatures in Middle Earth. Anyone with a brain would have reasoned that there were three prisoners and three trolls, which made one troll for each prisoner. But this had obviously not yet occurred to them and even if it had, Kate would have expected them to argue which troll got which prisoner. They just were that dim.

'Better sit on that last fellow first,' one of them said. They had moved again, so Kate could not see the speaker, although it might have been Gandalf as well. It really was difficult to hear.

'Fine,' his friend agreed. 'If you want to sit on him first, sit on him. Which is he?'

'The one with the black hair,' was the reply.

'Nonsense!' another disagreed. 'He's the one with the red hair.'

'Gandalf,' Thorin said softly.

'Almost certainly,' Kate confirmed. The flames were slowly dying down and the trolls hadn't yet noticed a thing. They were too busy being played for the fools that they were.

'I am sure it was black,' the first troll maintained. Kate knew they had names, but since she had no way to tell them apart, she couldn't tell which was which. Numbers tended to work best in these situations.

'Black it was,' number two agreed.

'Then what did yer say it was red for?' number one wondered. Kate wondered if he really sounded that stupid or if it was just her imagination. She allowed herself to settle for the first.

All the while the sky was growing lighter, a soft light blue in the east that gradually spread to the rest of the sky. The trolls however were too busy to notice. For people who didn't fancy being turned to stone they had a remarkable disregard for the time of night.

'I never did! Tom said that!' number two defended himself.

Tom, who Kate supposed was number three, hastened to deny that. 'That I never did! That was you!' The tone was so angry that she half expected the trolls to start a fight right there and then over the subject.

'Two to one, so shut yer mouth!' number one, who seemed to be the leader of the group, decided.

'The wonders of democracy,' Kate muttered under her breath. 'Didn't think they'd have that around here.' Even though she was still tied to this blasted spit, she knew the real danger had gone and that seemed to make everything ten times as funny as usual.

Thorin gave her a quizzical look. 'What's democracy?'

She considered explaining it in full, but decided that would take too long. So instead she settled for the, although not quite truthful: 'Political system in which the majority gets their way.'

The idea seemed utterly bewildering to him, which wasn't that strange, considering he lived in a world that was ruled by kings only.

She directed her attention back to the trolls, who by now were really on the verge of getting themselves in some kind of fight. 'Now stop it!' the leader yelled. 'The night's getting on and dawn comes early. Let's get on with it!'

But he never got to that. 'The dawn will take you all!' a voice boomed and then Kate could see the man that belonged to it, standing on a boulder, his staff raised above his head.

That properly confused the trolls. 'Who's that?' number two demanded. Gandalf's words didn't seem to have gotten through his thick skull just yet.

'Can we eat him too?' number three wondered stupidly.

But, as Kate already knew, the wizard's staff struck the rock, which split in two at contact, letting the bright early morning sun streaming its light into the clearing. The trolls were instantly turned to stone and Kate found herself looking at the shapes of several familiar dwarves and a hobbit that materialised from behind Gandalf's back.

**Thorin**

Thorin's legs were still mostly numb when he was finally being lifted down from the trolls' spit. He tried to mask the fact that as a result of that his walking wasn't very smooth yet. His men expected him to be strong at all times and just being almost eaten by trolls was no excuse to behave anything short of perfect.

Kate and Bombur had no such concerns. The fat dwarf had only now woken, completely oblivious of the fact that he had been tied to a spit for well over an hour. He kept blinking and asking how that was possible, causing a lot of the others to laugh. Having escaped certain death seemed to have made them even more noisy than usual.

Kate was a little more subdued. The experience seemed to have left her exhausted now that the initial relief was starting to wear off. She had all but collapsed against a nearby rock, massaging her legs and shoulders to get some feeling back into them.

Thorin himself had some injuries and bruises as well, he guessed. The young human woman had been tied against his left side so tightly it was bound to have bruised something, although it would be worse for her, being pressed against his armour. Yet she had not made as much as a noise ever since she had thanked Bofur and Dwalin for untying her. She had just sat down, letting the others rejoice in their little victory.

He shook his head. Kate Andrews was a mystery. She had been mad at him and she had been scared out of her wits doing what she had done, but she had done it all the same. Thorin had felt it; being so close to her made it impossible not to feel her trembling, hear her weeping. Some would call it cowardice. He might have agreed with them before tonight. But she had ridden out with him, even though she was frightened. That had to be worth something. And he had heard her story at the fire last night, even though she was unaware of it. Even though she was no stranger to hardships, in a way she had also been sheltered from the difficulties of life. She had never really faced the dangers he had. Could he really blame her for acting like she did?

Ugh, life had become very complicated indeed. One single night had removed most of his dislike for both her and the dreaded book. If Kate was to be believed – and he didn't really suspect her of lying anymore, not after everything that had happened – then, apart from his rescue plan, everything that had occurred here fit in neatly with the story as she knew it. Loath as he was to admit it, that book must have some value.

No, that had to be wrong. Because if that book was right, that would mean that he was marching towards his own death and that he could not accept. The future could not be that easily predicted, especially not by a book from a completely different world. That was just too much.

His gaze settled on the wizard, who was knocking his staff against a now stone troll with a rather smug expression on his face.

'Where did you go to, if I may ask?' he wondered. Of course the wizard had returned in the nick of time, apparently guided here by the dwarves that had managed to escape because of Kate and Thorin's crazy diversion, but the fact remained that this would probably not have happened if he had never left at all.

'To look ahead,' the wizard replied, cryptically as ever. But Thorin suspected him of not being entirely truthful. Their fight had been a serious one and the dwarf had been convinced that they had seen the last of the wizard on this quest. Gandalf had genuinely been, as Kate phrased it, pissed off.

'And what brought you back?' he therefore asked. True, his company had taken care of that for a bit, but they would never have been able to get to them in time had the wizard not already been on the way back to them.

Gandalf understood that. 'Looking behind,' he answered.

A look passed between them and Thorin knew that, at least for now, all was well again. He nodded, deciding to leave the subject. Doubtlessly it would come up again, the next time they argued about whether or not to go to the elves, but he wasn't in the mood for that right now.

'Nasty business,' Gandalf muttered, more to himself than to Thorin. 'Still, you're all in one piece.'

'No thanks to your burglar,' Thorin pointed out. The hobbit must have been delusional, trying to steal back four ponies from mountain trolls by trying to steal one of the trolls' knife. It was a small miracle he lived to tell the tale, all things considering. If anything, it only lessened Thorin's already low esteem of their burglar's abilities. By the looks of things, Kate was more qualified for the job.

Gandalf misunderstood. 'He had the nerves to play for time,' the wizard said reproachfully.

'Only because Kate… Miss Andrews told him to,' Thorin countered, hoping that his minor slip would go unnoticed. When had he even started to refer to the company's "advisor" by her first name anyway?

But of course Gandalf noticed. There wasn't much that got past him, Thorin reckoned. Fortunately it wasn't more like a one-quizzically-raised-eyebrow reaction this time. Maybe he didn't feel the need to resume arguing yet.

The wizard's gaze wandered to the mountains and the amusement turned to a wondering look. 'They must have come down from the Ettenmoors,' he muttered.

Thorin nodded thoughtfully. That would be the logical explanation. 'Since when do mountain trolls venture this far south?' he asked. It had been far too chaotic last night, so he hadn't spared it a moment's thought before now, but trolls being so close to this road was strange indeed. He had travelled in this area before and trolls had never been a problem then. They stuck to the mountains, where there were caves in which they could hide from the daylight. For these three to come here was unusual, alarming even.

'Not for an age.' Gandalf shook his head, equally thoughtfully, but Thorin thought there was a hint of worry to be seen there as well. The wizard too seemed to think it disturbing. 'Not since a darker power ruled these lands.'

That did not at all sound good. Thorin knew his history. The period Gandalf referred to was the time before Sauron's defeat and the very idea that such a dark time could be ahead of them was no welcome news.

But still, it could be a coincidence, he told himself. Yes, this incident was indeed unfortunate, but it could also be the natural result of a food shortage in these creatures' normal habitat. They could just have come down here in search of food and if that was the case, the farmer and his whole unfortunate family had served their purpose. The thought nearly made him sick. He had seen a lot in his life, but this still managed to turn his stomach.

Which was why it was probably just as well that Gandalf changed the subject. 'They could not have moved in daylight.'

'There must be a cave nearby,' he realised, his mind making that assumption automatically. And if there was a cave, there must be treasure there as well. Because other than eating innocent travellers, trolls also loved treasure. There had to be.

They set about it with a vengeance. There were bound to be some useful things in that cave and, if they were really lucky, they might even find some food there as well. And that was a welcome thought, because their supplies were running low.

The clearing emptied out, but when Thorin counted their number he found they were missing one curly head. His eyes swept the clearing and found the missing person still sitting against the rock, trying to force some unruly strands of hair back into her braid.

'You can't remain here,' he told her bluntly.

'I don't really fancy that treasure-hunting thing or the smell that goes with it,' she informed him. 'I can sit back and wait here until you're done.'

'We won't linger after,' he pointed out, all the while wondering why he hadn't started shouting at her already. Before tonight he would have snapped at her to do as he told her, she would have shouted back and before they knew it they would once again find themselves in an argument audible on the other end of Eriador.

'Fine!' she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air, but it wasn't as snappy as it would normally have been. Maybe all it took for them to go back to normal was a few quiet days. Perhaps that was all it took for them to forget about their truce. Some part of him even longed for that. This truce was uncharted waters for him and he found it unsettled him. Quite frankly, he had no idea how to behave around her.

She got up, sending him a glare as she did so. 'Have it your way. But I am not going in that cave.'

That was okay with him. He didn't want her there either. But he could not risk losing a member of his company, just because she chose to stay behind on her own. He ignored the voice in the back of his head that said he was the one to leave her behind by the fire only hours ago. So instead he marched off to join the rest of the group.

The stench in the cave attacked his nose as viciously as any troll and his nose wrinkled in disgust as they entered the trolls' lair properly. Gandalf, back in his role as puppet master, led them, but Thorin followed closely behind, determined not to let Gandalf gain too much leadership. That was one thing that had not changed. He still detested the fact that the grey wizard seemed to think he was the one in charge, especially when he was not.

There was treasure indeed, but the presence of bones and the smell of rotting flesh mingled with troll stench spoiled it for Thorin. This was a place of death. He would take what he needed from here and then leave the rest, he decided.

The others didn't share his attitude. 'Seems a shame just to leave it lying around,' Bofur commented. 'Anyone could take it.'

And they would be welcome to it, with Thorin's compliments. The treasure may be great, but compared to the wealth of Erebor it was nothing at all. That indeed helped to cure him from the gold's lure.

But his companions still called for a shovel to bury some of the hoard. A long-term deposit they called it. The dwarf king shook his head in mild amusement. Did they really think they would be coming back here one day? Whichever way this adventure went, he knew he would not return to this side of the Misty Mountains once he crossed them. He either succeeded in retaking the Lonely Mountain or he died trying. There was no other way for him and he guessed that the same was more or less true for his companions.

His own interest was mainly in the weapons that had belonged to the trolls' victims. He left some of the others to look into the food stored in the cave and set about examining the weapons himself. By the looks of things the beasts must have been here for quite some time. They had managed to collect a great variety of weapons, in all shapes and sizes, belonging to the different races that wandered this part of Middle Earth.

Two blades caught his attention almost right away. He set his torch aside and picked one up to examine it a bit better. It was dusty and covered in filth. The trolls had obviously not bothered touching this sword. And the same was true for the other blade. He held them up to have a better look at them.

'These swords were not made by any troll,' he remarked to himself. They felt good in his hands, well-balanced and not too heavy.

Gandalf came closer and Thorin gave him one of the blades for examination. The wizard had wandered everywhere and nowhere and would probably be able to identify them. 'Nor were they made by any smith among Men,' he muttered, studying the weapon closely. He unsheathed it. The blade was still sharp and beautiful, despite its long stay in a trolls' cave. 'These were forged in Gondolin, by the High Elves of the First Age.'

Those words all but triggered an allergic reaction in Thorin. He had no love of elves, or their weapons. Being a smith himself he considered their way of making weapons cheating. There was no way a naturally forged sword could be so light or indestructible. Somehow it wasn't fair. And by any rate he was reluctant to accept help from elves, even if it was by taking the elvish blade of an elf that was probably long gone anyway.

'You could not wish for a finer blade,' Gandalf told him sharply when he caught Thorin making to put the sword away.

That stopped him dead in his tracks. Even if he did not like the wizard's way of speaking to him – like he was a boy who had been caught making mischief – the words landed home all the same. He was still on a dangerous quest and discarding a good sword because he didn't like its makers was a luxury he could not afford. It would indeed be foolish to do so. And so he grabbed the weapon tighter and unsheathed it, finding himself looking at the best blade he had ever seen, even when it indeed had this unnatural feel to it.

Gandalf was already moving out, as was most of the company now that they had what they came for. It would seem there were indeed some edible things stored away in here and that was a welcome surprise indeed.

He made to follow them. There was nothing here worth staying for and they should be going again soon. They had missed a few hours already and Thorin was not the type to wait an entire day in the same place to let them recover their strength after their ordeal. They were dwarves; they could handle one sleepless night. And Gandalf was a wizard. Thorin had never seen him take a nap before and he doubted he ever would. He wasn't too sure about the hobbit and the human, but they could probably sleep a bit while riding.

He was getting close to the treasure-burying group when something caught his eye. Against the wall to his left side was another blade. It had elvish make written all over it and yet Thorin could not let it lying around in this filthy cave. The blade was sharp, a bit on the short side, but as good as his own newly acquired sword. Although it had to be old, it didn't show. He guessed it would be around the same age as the swords that he had only just found further down the cave.

But it would be no use to him. He was on a quest to reclaim his Mountain, not on a quest to collect swords from the side of the road. He already had two good dwarvish swords and this elven one to go with it. He simply didn't need any more weapons.

But Kate did. The thought hit him quite unexpectedly, triggered by the memory of the young human woman trying to lift his heavy spare sword. Last night had made it clear to him that she in fact was quite incapable of defending herself properly. So far the other members of the company had let her train with their swords, but he could see those were all too heavy for her. If she were to turn sideways behind a young tree, she'd be invisible. There was not an ounce of muscle on her. Her build was too slender, almost elvish, to wield their weapons.

But she could use this blade. It weighed almost nothing, but it was sharp and easy to handle. The only real problem with this was to get her to accept his gift. Because he had made it more than clear that she would not get anything from him, not after she had gotten the money from their bet anyway.

He urged the small group that was still burying the treasure to move out, leave this foul place behind as fast as they could, and then left the place himself. His nose and lungs were grateful for the fresh air he treated them with, even if the horrible stench became more or less ignorable when you were in there long enough.

He found his company in their old camping place, which he now realised was far too close for comfort to the cave. They had already gotten a fire going on which they were trying to cook breakfast.

'No fire,' Thorin ordered brusquely. 'We'll move out within the hour.'

Bombur uttered a muttered protest about how he now would have to eat his breakfast stone-cold and Thorin could only just bite back a snappy remark along the lines of how he himself had almost become breakfast to their captors. He should be able to handle to have a sparse one himself, especially since he was now so fat he could not possible be able to spot his own feet.

Bombur wasn't the only one muttering, but their protests died down when they saw their leader's icy glare. Mr Baggins looked very disappointed, but then, Gandalf had informed Thorin that hobbits preferred to live on at least six meals a day, so having three as a maximum and two as an average must be something of a torment to him. But pity or compassion was not in the dwarf king's dictionary, not where the burglar was concerned anyway. It was, after all, more or less his fault that they had experienced such a terrible night.

Kate just shrugged, grabbed some food and moved to a quiet corner to eat it. She had grabbed one of the three books she carried with her and started reading. It was almost some kind of ritual, Thorin observed. Whenever she didn't want to be disturbed, she took a book and pretended to take no notice of the rest of the world.

He marched over to her. 'What are you doing?' he demanded.

She looked at him with some mocking glance. 'Dancing a jig,' she countered dryly. 'What does it look like I'm doing?'

He just waited for the real reply, which he knew was coming anyway.

She snorted. 'I'm doing my homework, if you must know.' She waved the book in front of his face and he saw it was the book called The Hobbit, the one he had been trying to avoid at all costs. It sometimes felt as if he could never look or talk to her without that dreaded book coming in somewhere.

He held out the sword to her. 'Take it,' he told her.

Kate's eyebrows raised in a quizzical manner. 'Whatever happened to _you won't be getting anything else_?'

'It's not a gift. We found it in the troll hoard and Durin knows you'll need something to protect yourself with.' He gave her a condescending look, angered by her words and the presence of the book. Now that they had gotten out of their tight spot he felt they no longer needed it.

She took it a bit hesitantly, grabbing it all wrong. 'Thanks, I guess.'

It took all he had not to snort. 'Try not to hurt yourself with it.' He had taken his leave of her before she had the chance to react.

From Kate's notes: _What on earth was all _that_ about?_

* * *

**That's it for today. I hoped you enjoyed it. I'm keeping Thorin's attitude towards the book a bit ambivalent for now. I hope his reasoning makes sense. It does to me, and I hope it does to you as well.**

**Next time, some issues involving an unreadable map. In the meantime, please review. Your opinion really matters to me.**


	10. Chapter 10 Truce?

**Chapter 10**

**Truce?**

_If I was thinking that the whole troll incident would make things better, I would soon find out that I had been wrong. Things very much continued to go as they had before our encounter with the trolls: we got up early, had a quick breakfast and then rode the rest of the day, until we all but fell off our ponies in exhaustion. _

_The weather didn't really help either. The day after the troll incident it began to rain and it continued to do so for almost a week. It weren't heavy showers, but more like the constant drizzle that is somehow all the worse. It soaked our clothes and left us with the very accurate feeling of being wet and cold to the bone. _

_On a more positive note my arguments with Thorin seemed to have greatly lessened. Whether that was caused by the lack of communication in the group as a whole or the fragile truce formed during our cooperation over the troll crisis, I wasn't sure. But no matter what had caused it, the fact remained that the arguments were limited to once a day at maximum. Sometimes even an entire day passed without shouting matches. I daresay our companions were grateful for that as well. _

_While this was probably a good thing, I also missed our verbal sparring, as insane as that might sound. In a strange way it made me feel alive to go up against someone who could keep up with me in that department and Thorin definitely fit the bill. Without the fights things became rather silent and dreary._

_So all in all things were just very wet and very miserable and, as it would soon turn out, our luck was definitely not improving, not at all…_

**Thorin**

It had been raining for six days continuously and the dry moments in between could be counted on the fingers of one hand; they were few and short-lasting, leaving the company wet and irritable. They slept in small caves near the side of the road when they could, trying to get warm and dry before getting soaked all over again the next day.

His men were not the only ones to be extremely relieved when the clouds finally broke and the sun was revealed. Thorin himself muttered a silent thanks to whoever controlled the weather when he woke that day with no rain pouring down on him.

He told himself that his decision to stay in the nice sunny glade where they had made camp, for a day longer had nothing to do whatsoever with the change in the weather. It was merely a question of effectiveness. Their things were wet and in desperate need of drying. And a day of rest for the living members of the company was by now a necessity as well. Most of them looked dead on their feet, not just Mr Baggins and Miss Andrews.

The general mood was cheerful, but Thorin was restless. He knew it was the right decision to make, but he wanted to move on. The Misty Mountains were close now. He could see them in the distance and it was as if they called to him, urged him to cross them and cross them now. But sometimes a leader needed to set his own needs aside for those he was responsible for and this was one of those occasions.

'Where exactly are we?' he could hear Kate ask in an interested tone.

'Very near the mountains now, lass.' Dwalin was the one that answered the question. The fearsome warrior had at first greatly disliked the female presence in the group, but after the troll crisis, as Kate now referred to it, he had taken some kind of liking to her. He had taken the time to teach her how to handle her new sword properly when he had refused to do so before. And even the dwarf king had to admit that under his tutelage she did rather well. For a human woman. 'There, you can see them over there.'

'Is that the Mountain?' asked Bilbo's voice in a respectful tone.

That made Thorin almost chuckle. That Halfling really had no understanding of the world at all! Did he really believe it to be so small? How naïve he was!

Balin did laugh. 'Of course not!' Thorin's oldest friend tried and failed to hide his amusement. 'That is only the beginning of the Misty Mountains,' he corrected the hobbit. 'And we have got to get through, or over or under those somehow, before we can come into the Wilderland beyond. And it is a deal of a way even from the other side of them to the Lonely Mountain in the East.'

'Oh.' Bilbo's expression of disappointment mixed with shock made Thorin immediately forget his promise not to chuckle, so he quickly averted his head from the scene.

Gandalf, who had been watching it all as well, stifled his own laughter and came to stand beside the leader of the company. The wizard had been cutting back on his overbearing behaviour for the past week, no doubt the result of the rain, but Thorin had a feeling that that was about to end.

And indeed. 'Have you considered my suggestion?' Gandalf asked.

Thorin didn't even need to ask what he was talking about. They had argued about this before and then Gandalf had stormed out in anger. 'I will not go there,' he replied, looking straight ahead as to not meet the other's eyes.

'Then what will you do about that map?' the grey wizard demanded. 'We have no way to uncover its secrets ourselves. Lord Elrond has the power to reveal them to us.'

'He will try to stop us,' Thorin countered. 'The elves have no love of my people. They will try to stop our quest. I told you before: I will not seek them out.' _Unless I had no other choice_.

And he had plenty of other options. Gandalf himself had admitted that there might be more people in Middle Earth who had the skill to read the map and Thorin was determined to find them. And if they all turned out to be elves, he would do it without their information. The map at least gave them a general direction in which they could search. He might not even need the hidden information.

'Then you will remain ignorant of the map's message,' Gandalf replied bluntly. It didn't take an expert to establish that his temper was swiftly rising again.

'That is not entirely true, Gandalf, and I think you know it.'

Thorin turned on his heels, finding himself staring at the company's advisor. She was paying him no mind, though. She had her gaze fixed on the grey wizard, and, even though she was smaller than he was, looked at him as if he was a child that had been caught stealing sweets from the forbidden cupboard. Had he not been wondering what in Durin's name she was talking about, he might have thought it quite amusing.

'What do you mean?' he demanded. He had a feeling the book was somehow involved, but if that was saving him the need to visit elves, he would choose her book any time.

Kate gave him an appraising look, biting her lip. 'You're not going to like it,' she warned him.

He ignored that. 'Get on with it.'

'It's in the book,' she blurted out, digging said book up from her backpack as she spoke. 'The map's printed in it, including the hidden runes. I only realised last night that there was information on it that wasn't part of the original map, so I did my homework and checked it out.' The words came spilling out of her mouth. She didn't look at either of them, flipping through her book in search of the right page.

When she found it, she held it out to Thorin. He hesitated for a moment – his dislike of the book still present, even though it wasn't as bad as it had been when he had first been confronted with it – but then took it.

'Here it is.' Kate's finger pointed out a piece of text on the map. Other than that it was exactly the same as the one he had in his possession, down to the last detail. The maps were identical.

'That's impossible,' he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

Kate of course did not get that. He got the full benefits of her most fiery glare. He could almost see the flames blazing in her eyes. 'So you keep telling me,' she said indignantly. 'And yet the impossible things keep happening.'

There was very little he could say to deny that, but yet he remained cautious where the book was concerned. Somehow it seemed wiser not to have blind faith in a book that predicted his death.

Kate pointed at the runes again. 'These runes are only visible on your map on Midsummer, I thought. According to the story, they're moon runes.'

Gandalf made an 'Ah' sound, gaining him Kate's attention. 'But you knew that already,' she accused him. 'You know the story. You as good as admitted it on the first day of the journey. I bet you already knew the message of the map.' Her eyes had narrowed in suspicion, something Thorin was all too familiar with by now.

And he couldn't help but copy her movements. He had heard himself how Gandalf had admitted to knowing the story as told in her book. And now the information that had kept evading him, turned out to be in it, as the wizard must have known all along. And that meant he had been holding out on them, for whatever reason he may have. And Thorin had a pretty fair idea what the reason may be in this particular case.

'You would have made us seek out the elves for help!' he spat.

Gandalf at least had the decency to look a little bit guilty, maybe even ashamed, but it was difficult to make out completely, since he had taken to hiding behind his literal smokescreen, again.

'You scheming bastard,' Kate muttered under her breath. 'You're unbelievable!'

That about summed it up to perfection. No doubt Gandalf had already been useful on this journey and he would surely continue to be so, but the wizard had ulterior motives. By now Thorin knew he should have known better than to think anything else.

Gandalf's eyes, now again visible through the smoke, started to show signs of irritations. 'We still need Lord Elrond's help,' he pointed out. 'Our supplies are running low. The elves would be able to help us.'

'Help?' Thorin scoffed. 'They are not known for doing that, as you perfectly well know.'

'I am sure Miss Andrews…' Gandalf began.

Kate immediately threw up her hands in defence. 'Kindly keep me out of this!'

'Isn't there something about Rivendell in your book, dear girl?' the wizard asked in a friendly voice.

Thorin may not have known the woman for very long, but even he knew better than to confront her when she was already on the warpath. And that she definitely was. She had just caught Gandalf in what might well be called lying. And if it wasn't lying, it was holding back important information at least.

The woman's eyes narrowed. 'You brought me on as an advisor, didn't you?' she demanded. 'I take it that means I can change some of the things in this blasted book, can't I?'

Gandalf hid behind his smokescreen again.

Kate glared at him and then at the pipe as if she would like to do nothing more than to smash the object to pieces. 'I take it that means yes.' Her voice was nothing more than a hiss, but somehow it made her sound all the more dangerous for it. As Thorin well knew, the hissing was only the prelude to the shouting and for once it wasn't directed at him, which somehow surprised him. 'Why else would you have brought me here if not to prevent some things from happening?'

Gandalf's eyes flickered for a moment, but then he was once again safely hidden behind the smoke.

But it had been enough. The realisation hit him with the force of a stone avalanche. Kate was here to change events, events that took place in the book he was currently holding in his very hands. Events like him dying.

He blocked out that thought immediately. He could do without that kind of ideas for now. And looking at Kate, he didn't know how in Durin's name she was supposed to change anything, provided that the book was the truth in the first place. The human woman was too small, too fragile, too inexperienced to do anything even approaching useful. She belonged to the race of Men. Their race was the weakest in Middle Earth, apart from the hobbits maybe. It would be too much to ask of any of them to change anything in the world, but it would be even more cruel to ask it of a woman like Kate.

He appraised her as she gave in to her rage, calling the grey wizard a lot of names he wouldn't even dream of uttering, but he blocked it out. He had heard it all before. But even in the grasp of a full-blown temper she didn't look all that impressive. She might be taller than most of the dwarves in the company, but she had no muscle to show for it. And while she was apparently good at sneaking around unheard, the unseen aspect of that was far less successful because of her reddish brown curls. She was no warrior and she was no burglar. The whole thing was topped off by her dislike to even be on this quest.

But he wasn't as desperate to get rid of her as he had been either. She had helped them after all and by now he had come to accept that Gandalf wasn't in a hurry to let her get back to her world as well. He would just have to learn to live with her presence, as much as he detested the necessity of it.

And in this particular fight they were even on the same side. Because no matter what Gandalf had been thinking when he merrily plotted away, informing them had not been high on his list of priorities. Thorin found himself a little surprised, but then, a common enemy united apparently even them.

He let Kate vent her rage and turned his attention towards the runes on the map in the book. Thorin wasn't a scribe like Ori, but he was literate and altogether a rather learned man. It took hardly any effort at all to figure out the meaning of the words. 'Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks,' he read out loud. 'And the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the key-hole.'

That got the attention of the others. Kate sent one last furious glare in Gandalf's direction and then broke off her shouting to turn and nod at him. 'That sounds like the line I remember reading about,' she confirmed. 'I think we've got it.' She looked rather pleased with herself.

Even Gandalf nodded, albeit reluctantly. 'That is indeed what I believe to be the message on the map.'

Thorin looked at the runes, but the vagueness of the instructions made him incapable of feeling the relief of finally having an answer to the question of what hidden information the map contained. Durin's Day was clear enough. It was the first part he had a problem with. Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks? That sounded more like a drunkard's rambling than the serious instructions of a sane man.

'What does it mean?' he all but demanded of the wizard. After learning Gandalf's true motives he was less than eager to keep the wizard around. And it didn't exactly help that the grey wizard still acted like he knew best – like the patient parent keeping an eye on his naughty and naïve children pretending to be adults. The fact that he was also taller than any of them didn't make it any easier either. Thorin was tall for one of his race and he had become used to him being the one towering over others, not the other way around.

It was however the woman that answered. 'Exactly what it says,' she replied. She made a move to take back the book from him, but hesitated at the last moment. 'May I?'

He handed it back to her and she started flipping through its pages. She read a piece and then nodded with a smug smile spreading over her face. 'Yes, that's true,' she muttered. 'There's a grey stone at the back door and if this book is actually right about something, a thrush will knock on it on Durin's Day.' She must have seen his confused face, because she added: 'As in literally.'

Thorin looked at her. For the first time since he'd met her, there was an excited twinkle in her eyes that seemed to light up her entire face. He didn't know why, but it made her almost look pretty. _Don't be daft_, he thought the next second. Miss Andrews wasn't pretty, not to him and possibly not even to her own race, if he knew anything about Men at all. She was rather plain to them and to dwarves there was no attraction at all. For most she would be too tall. Men didn't like women taller than themselves much and even if there was one dwarf who would not have a problem with her height, she would still be too skinny to be thought pretty. Most of them would crush her if they as much as gently hugged her.

He became aware of Gandalf's quizzical look and he started to realise that the wizard had asked a question that he had missed out on while he was too busy appraising Kate. But asking to repeat it was admitting he had not been listening, so he threw another question at the advisor. 'And where is this back door?' he demanded of her in a disbelieving voice. 'You seem to know it all so well. Enlighten us.'

He could see hurt flash in her eyes, but it was only a moment and then she was firmly back in control of herself. 'Not entirely certain,' she confessed, keeping her facial expression as neutral as she could manage. 'I'm pretty sure it's somewhere on the west side of the Mountain, though.'

Unfortunately he had come to that conclusion himself already, rendering her information as good as meaningless.

He was about to comment on that uselessness when a great racket in the forest prevented him from doing so. Someone was coming and whoever they were, they had no reservations about keeping quiet. In Thorin's experience, that was never a good thing.

'Somebody's coming!' he shouted at his companions, who didn't seem to have taken notice of that fact. They were all still sitting around the campfire, merrily chatting the day away, laughing over Bofur's latest joke.

He was surprised, if only a little, when Gandalf immediately took command of the situation again, making Thorin want to grind his teeth in anger.

Even Kate seemed to disapprove. 'Is it just my imagination, or are you too ready to hit him?' she asked him under her breath, before going after the wizard.

Thorin was left on his own, frowning slightly as he realised that for the first time ever, they actually agreed on something.

**Kate**

Kate had a pretty good idea of what was going to happen now, so she already knew that there was nothing that justified such panic. It would however not do to tell her companions that they were overreacting, even in the unlikely case they'd stop their fight preparations long enough to listen to what she had to say. So she'd let herself be shoved behind a living wall of dwarf bodies and waited.

'Why are you so calm?' Dwalin hissed at her. The dwarf warrior was one of those that was still not entirely sure about her presence in this company. He had agreed to teach her how to handle her sword, but Kate reckoned that was his way for repaying her for her diversion of the trolls, and nothing else. It certainly didn't mean that he suddenly liked her, not at all.

Kate contemplated telling him the truth for a second, and then decided against it. She didn't believe Thorin would thank her for it – since he hated her book and knowledge of future events with a passion – and she wasn't entirely sure Dwalin would believe her even if she did tell him. Most of the dwarves seemed to think of her as a useless but not-too-bad tag-along, because Gandalf seemed to think she would be useful. In that respect her credentials weren't much better than Bilbo's. At any rate, no one except Gandalf and Thorin even knew about the book and its contents. As it was, that was probably for the best as well.

So instead she opted on the slightly less truthful: 'Would it actually help if I started screaming and fainting?'

He glowered at her, but refrained from saying something, which he wouldn't have had time for anyway, since the panicked shouting in the forest demanded their attention.

'Thieves! Fire! Murder!'

Kate recognised the voice from the movie, although it remained strange that some things were so alike. If anything, it freaked her out from time to time. But as it was, she felt relieved first and foremost. It wasn't that she had really been afraid that the newcomer was anything but the slightly eccentric Radagast the Brown, but unconsciously she had been holding her breath. If the troll incident had taught her one thing, it was that she could never ever trust anything to go exactly according to plan.

It also made her wonder how much use her presence really was if her knowledge wasn't as accurate as she had first believed it to be. Clearly nothing fit entirely, not to mention that some things were obviously nonsense. Had she not interfered, the encounter with the troll might have turned out rather unpleasant indeed.

'Radagast!' Gandalf exclaimed in a relieved voice, although Kate wasn't sure he really was that genuine. He knew the book, of that she was certain, and she had caught him quoting the movie at her on her first day in Middle Earth. She assumed it would be a safe guess to say that he had somehow gained knowledge of that as well, although how precisely remained a mystery to her.

'Radagast the Brown,' Gandalf introduced the man, interrupting her musings. 'What on earth are you doing here?'

Most dwarves relaxed a little now that the situation was under control. Only Bilbo kept staring at the brown wizard. Kate admitted that he might indeed have some ground to do so; Radagast's appearance truly was a bit strange.

The other person still looking as if he was on full alert was Thorin, although his attention was fixed on her rather than the new arrival. His gaze unnerved her. It wasn't exactly that icy glare that she had become so used to over the last weeks, but it was by no means a friendly look either.

The wizards moved to a more private place to talk, although they should not have bothered, at least not for Kate's sake. She already knew. She went over what she remembered of the movie in her head as the other members of the company went about their own activities. There was the conversation and then the…

'Oh, _shit_!' she cursed, getting up to find Thorin and tell him to get out of here as fast as they possibly could.

It turned out that was a mistake. She had had some ache in her lower belly for some hours, but hadn't paid it much attention since she had more interesting and pressing matters to concern herself with. It was only now that she felt a stab of pain that she realised they had been on the road for longer than she had thought.

'Shit!' she exclaimed, gaining her the immediate attention of everyone in the company.

'Are you all right, lassie?' Balin asked.

_No, I'm not_. But she'd die before she would admit to that. This had been embarrassing enough the first time. She could do without the awkward looks and overripe tomato imitations, especially now that they might just find them in a dangerous situation within the bloody hour.

'_Fine_!' she snapped at him. She appreciated his concern, she really did, just not this very minute. 'Thorin, can I have a word?'

Best keep this private. After all, she could be wrong. Not about the movie; she knew it well enough to be sure about the course of events in there. She just wasn't sure it was right about what happened here. It could still all be different. There needn't be any Wargs and Orcs, just because the movie claimed they should be there. And they weren't in the book, so this could just be false alarm. But better false alarm than being unprepared.

Thorin sent her another glare. Kate could easily guess where that one came from. She just had the nerve to all but command him and the dwarf, being royalty, had difficulty dealing with that. It really wasn't surprising.

Nevertheless, he did as she asked and Kate gratefully sat down again. The pain was better bearable as long as she sat, although she didn't get her hopes up about that. She dug the painkillers up and swallowed some of them. If she was right about this and they would have to run before long, she really couldn't use this.

_Like I ever could use this_, she thought, furious with herself for forgetting something this significant.

Thorin eyed her warily. 'What are you doing?' he demanded. She hated to still hear that suspicion in his voice. One would say that he would know better by now. But no, from the way he spoke Kate could tell that he still did not trust her.

And it made her more than angry, which, in combination with all those hormones, was what Bofur called lethal. She had overheard him some weeks ago when she had just had another argument with Durin's bloody heir, saying that if he had to choose between confronting her or the dragon, he'd take the dragon anytime. It seemed a healthier alternative.

'Oh, just sitting here polishing my nails,' she snapped at him.

Thorin didn't fail to react to this. 'I demand to know what is going on.' He was still standing, arms folded over his chest, radiating power with every cell of his body. It almost made her cower away in fear, but she didn't. She was too angry to care and even if she hadn't been, the thrill of their argument kept her going. This was seriously disturbing, Kate knew that. But she had missed their arguments. They made her feel alive, and, more importantly, stopped her from worrying about what happened back home because she was temporarily too preoccupied with the fight to think about anything else. It made her feel strong and in control somehow.

'Last time I checked, you didn't want to know anything about that,' she countered, thoroughly enjoying the confused look on his face, the one telling her that he had no idea what she was actually saying. 'It's that woman thing again,' she clarified. 'That monthly thing.' It felt embarrassing to speak of to a man, but it wasn't nearly as embarrassing for her as it was for him. Thorin didn't do a tomato imitation, but he sure was acting uncomfortable.

'You wished to inform me of your health?' Uncomfortable though he may be, the words were icy and annoyingly composed.

'No.' The fact that she had to look up to him made her almost decide to stand, but she decided against it when she remembered the pain. It was bad enough already and she could do without increasing it. 'We should get out of here,' she told him. 'As in right now.'

He simply scowled at her. 'Why, if I may ask?'

His condescending tone almost had her lose her temper, but even Kate knew when to keep herself in check, even if the other members of the company disagreed on that account. 'Because there's Wargs coming, and Orcs following behind.'

Thorin didn't believe it. He snorted, the corners of his mouth curling up in amusement. 'That's something from your book?' he questioned.

'It's from the story, yes,' she replied, careful not to use the word book, since this sure wasn't anywhere in it.

The stare hardened. 'I told you to keep that nonsense to yourself,' he hissed, bending over so he didn't need to raise his voice.

The challenge was too much to resist. 'You didn't seem that opposed to it when it provided the answer to your problem!' she snapped. When next she checked she was on her feet. Her belly protested against that, but she found she could ignore the pain if she was only mad enough.

And that she was. Because this wasn't fair. That book had proven itself, _Kate_ had proven herself. Good grief, Thorin had even asked her what was in the story when they had been roasting over the trolls' cooking fire! And she hadn't heard him protesting when it was her book that had provided him with the perfect excuse to avoid the elves he hated so much. And she hadn't even been sure it was a good idea to tell him. It was by way of a peace offering that she had given him the information he wanted. Privately she agreed with Gandalf on this matter. It would be wiser to seek out Lord Elrond's help, especially now that their supplies were dwindling. But Thorin most certainly didn't feel like asking elves for help and this had been her way to try and mend things a little. After all, it didn't look like she was going home anytime soon, so they would be in each other's company for quite some time to come. It would be better for them – and the rest of the company – if they weren't at each other's throats all the time.

She now realised that he only believed her when it suited him. At the first sign of trouble he abandoned that attitude entirely, going back to conveniently hating the book. And since she was the one that reminded him of the book, he also hated her on such occasions.

And indeed he did slap down any suggestion that things might not be as all right as he wanted them to be. 'Coincidence. It needn't even be true.'

The dismissive tone made her forget her promise to keep her temper in check. 'You bloody hypocrite!' she shouted, not even caring that everyone would be able to hear them loud and clear. 'You were quick enough to seek my advice when you thought it would help.'

'And it didn't.' The denial of the truth was so firm it struck her speechless for a few seconds. 'I will not let my actions be guided by a book that might not even tell the truth.'

The familiar words made her find her tongue again. 'Now, where have I heard that one before?' she asked in a hard sarcastic voice. 'Oh, hang on a second, would that be that one time right before we ran into a bunch of hungry trolls, exactly as I predicted?' She could hardly believe this was even happening. Of course Thorin was the most stubborn person she had ever met or would ever meet in her life, but surely he would have been gifted with some common sense?

It would however seem that common sense had abandoned him. 'Coincidence,' he told her again, even if he did seem a bit uneasy about it now.

She'd bet a year salary that he knew she was telling the truth, but would not admit to that. Maybe he was hoping that if he denied it long enough it wouldn't happen either. And if that was the case, he even ranked higher on the list of most stupid creatures in Middle Earth than those blasted trolls. It was perhaps not wise to translate that thought into the spoken word, but it had already left her mouth before her brain caught up with her.

And that had not been such a good idea. Thorin's look, that had already been as icy as she had ever seen it, intensified in tenfold. Normally that would have sent her running for the hills without as much as a second thought, but today, this very minute, the rage had her firmly in its grasp and common sense be damned. She met his eyes with a glare of her own, almost daring him to react.

And he didn't fail to comply. 'My sole concern is to keep this company safe,' he hissed at her. His voice, so unlike hers, was a hushed whisper that made him somehow sound all the more dangerous for it.

'Well, maybe you should have given it a little more thought then before you decided to attack a full-grown dragon with so small a group,' she countered. 'Because last I checked that certainly wasn't the best way to keep people safe!'

That riled him. 'You foolish girl!' he spat. 'What do you know of such things? You are only a child!'

If anything made her angry, that did. It dragged up memories of her father, memories she tried to keep stored away most of the time. He too had always used these words to tell her to keep out of his business, using it as an excuse not to give her the explanation for his appalling behaviour towards her mother.

And right now she was so angry that she didn't even think. She hit him, right in his face. Her hand left a red mark on his left cheek.

That caught the attention of the rest of the company. Every pair of eyes moved towards them. A deathly quiet settled over the clearing. If someone would have dropped a pin in that moment, it would have deafened the lot of them.

But Kate didn't really see their shocked stares. She could only see Thorin, who looked at her as if she was some kind of ghost, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open, the very image of shock and bewilderment.

She staggered back, her brain only now catching up with her actions. Good grief, what had she done? It had never been her intention to strike him like that. Then why had she? What on earth had gotten into her?

But now was not the time to ponder that question. She heard a low growl coming from somewhere behind them, that snapped everyone out of their shocked state.

'Was that a wolf?' Bilbo sounded more than a little nervous. The hobbit glanced around him, visibly on edge. 'Are there wolves out there?'

Even Thorin now stopped his forensic study of Kate's face to address the danger, but not before the young woman had seen the look of realisation on his face. He knew she had been right and for some reason it scared the hell out of him.

'Wolves?' Bofur too was very clearly frightened. His hands were clasping his weapon so tightly that his knuckles turned white. 'No, that is not a wolf.'

The realisation hit Kate about half a second later, around the time a massive Warg sprang into their group: this was not a book or a movie. This was real and she was in some real danger. And she had never been so frightened in her life as she had been in that very moment.

* * *

From Thorin's notes: _The woman was right. But by Mahal's hammer, can I afford to believe her?_

* * *

**That's it for now, I'm afraid. About the map, I'm not really sure every copy of the book has the map with the runes in it, but mine does and I thought it would be a nice twist to use it. Anyway, please let me know what you thought again. Your opinion really matters to me.**


	11. Chapter 11 Dog's Dinner

**Chapter 11**

**Dog's Dinner**

_To say that I was scared would have been like saying that Thorin had a mild dislike of Orcs. The monster, because that was what it was, seemed to make a beeline for me, jumping over the others to get to me. Its teeth were bared, saliva dripping from its enormous jaws. And of course the only thing I did was stand there like an idiot. Fear had frozen me into place. I don't think I could have moved at all, even if I remembered that I should be capable to do so. But I definitely didn't remember that in that frightening moment. I could only stand there and watch my death approach as in slow motion. _

_I must have looked like a complete fool, not even trying to get out of the way when there was such danger approaching. Thorin as good as told me later when he scolded me for that, along with a good few other things. But that was later. In that moment he was, once again, the knight in shining armour._

_Thorin didn't even hesitate for half a second. I didn't see where he had gotten his sword from so quickly, but I was ever so grateful that it had been within reach as he embedded it in the beast's vulnerable neck. The Warg dropped dead not a metre away from me, while Kíli shot its equally ugly and vicious companion._

_By this time the entire company seemed to be in somewhat of a panic, some looking at Gandalf, some at Thorin, searching for some leadership, I don't doubt. Everyone was suddenly realising that we were not as safe as we had hoped to be and that was bound to cause some uneasiness, even now that our attackers lay dead on the forest floor._

_Thorin removed his sword from the Warg's body. 'Warg scouts!' he spat, as if they were the most disgusting things he had ever encountered in his life…_

**Kate**

That got Kate out of her shocked state in the end, and she gave herself a good mental scolding for freezing now of all times. She had some experience in surviving in the wild, and while she didn't exactly have any experience in dealing with monstrous animals such as these, she had been taught to at least get out of the way of anything dangerous that might for some reason decide to go her way.

And these two may be dead, but if the movie actually was right about this, they were not out of danger yet, not at all.

Thorin had realised the same thing. 'That means an Orc pack will not be far behind.'

Bilbo looked as if he might faint on the spot. 'Orc pack?' He swayed a bit and actually needed Balin's help to steady himself.

Kate wished she could just faint and escape from this living nightmare, but of course she had no such luck. Now that the anger was rapidly fading away she became far too aware of the stinging pain in her lower belly. Her body was announcing that her monthly period had just started again and that didn't base its planning on whether or not the owner of said body could use that pain at that specific moment.

A soft hiss escaped her as she tried to stand a little taller to give the impression that she could actually handle this. By now she had long since realised that she probably couldn't, but she wasn't about to sit here and wait for that Orc pack to find her either. She was in no hurry to find out what those creatures did to those they captured. That at least was something both book and movie agreed on.

Gandalf and Thorin had landed themselves in their next argument again. The wizard had been as stupid as to suggest that Thorin might have accidentally given the quest away to someone who would have told the Orcs, and the dwarf, insulted at that insinuation, all but bit Gandalf's head off in reply.

'Who did you tell?' Gandalf had raised himself to his full height as he practically bellowed out the question again.

'No one, I swear!' If looks could kill, the grey wizard would be as dead as those two Wargs by now. But now was not the time to argue and fortunately Thorin realised that as well. It seemed he did have some common sense left after all. 'What in Durin's name is going on?'

'You are being hunted.' Even though the wizard did his best to keep his voice calm, the horror seeped through nonetheless.

And Kate agreed. This was bad. Of course, if the movie should be believed, they were all going to be fine in the end. But the young woman had come to greatly doubt any knowledge movie and book could provide her with. She had learned from the troll incident. Had she not interfered there, they might very well have ended up as troll supper. Neither book nor movie had ever mentioned the need for such interference, but in reality it sure as hell had become a necessity.

She hoped and prayed that there was no need for her to do anything of that kind this time, because she seriously doubted she would be able to. By now it had become clear to her that the painkillers were not going to work. This was not entirely unexpected. If she was lucky they would take the edge of the pain, making it feel like a dull throbbing, but that was the best she could hope for. Running was going to be all kinds of hell already, never mind changing the course of events, even if she did know how on earth she was supposed to be doing that.

She listened with half an ear as the loss of the ponies was reported and Radagast offered to draw their pursuers off with his sledge and rabbits. Under any other circumstance the brown wizard's smug confidence would have been amusing, but as it was Kate had more pressing matters to concern herself with.

They had to wait for a few minutes before they would follow the brown wizard, to give him the chance to tempt the Orcs to go after him rather than the company. Those minutes of waiting were torture. Kate knew they were in a lot of danger, danger she should be running from. Remaining in the same place felt like a tremendous mistake to her. She was restless and on edge.

To distract herself she walked over to the tree stump she had set her backpack on earlier. She had heard Thorin's command to leave everything behind that they could, but this wasn't one of those things. In this bag were the last things she had of home and she'd be damned if she left those behind to be torn apart by those foul creatures.

She prepared to follow her companions as a strong hand gripped her arm. 'What do you think you're doing?' The words were more of a growl than a hiss this time, but Kate knew, even without looking, who had spoken them. There was only one person who kept asking these stupid questions, especially when it should be obvious what she was doing.

He turned around, finding herself face to face with the dwarf king. 'Taking a stroll around the woods?' she offered with a very fake smile. 'What does it look like I'm doing?'

He glared at her or, more specifically, the rucksack. 'Leave it,' he ordered brusquely, ignoring her words.

'No way,' she replied immediately.

'It will slow you down,' he pointed out. 'You are slow enough as it is and you are in pain. I will not risk you falling behind.' The words were as cold and uncaring as usual, but it was the meaning of them that somehow registered in Kate's mind. He would not risk her falling behind and he had even acknowledged the fact that she was hurting.

She raised one eyebrow. 'Is this the great Thorin Oakenshield actually admitting that he cares?' Because of the pain and the frustration the words came out harsher than she had meant them. She was touched really, although she still wasn't sure he even meant it this way. One would be unable to tell from his voice or face.

His face remained impassive as he repeated his command. 'Leave it,' he told her.

'Like hell I'm not!' she snapped at him. 'That is the last thing I have of home. I won't leave it behind for the Orcs to play with.' And when she saw the unyielding look in his eyes, she added, in quite the malicious voice: 'I'm not asking you to leave behind your last family heirlooms either, am I?' Her thoughts were with the book also. She had been brought on as the company's advisor, so that bloody book was a necessity of life now. They needed it. But she didn't say that to Thorin, because that would most likely only cause him to insist that she leave it behind, since he hated the book so much.

Kate thought she saw a quick flash of pain in his eyes, but it was gone before she could be sure. 'Take it off,' he commanded her in that so familiar cold voice.

'I told you…' she began to protest.

Thorin didn't listen. He grabbed the bag and removed it from her person. Kate struggled, clinging to the backpack with all her might, but it really wasn't a contest. Thorin was at least ten times stronger than she was and it took him hardly ten seconds to get it from her.

'Give it back!' She hated that there were tears of frustration in her eyes. He was taking her last link to home from her and their struggle had made it quite clear that there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop that from happening. She was too weak, too inexperienced and too small to hold her own against a trained warrior like the dwarf. In that moment it became painfully clear to her that she was the most vulnerable person in the company. She was a burden and she was therefore treated as one.

Thorin ignored her, as he was prone to do whenever it suited him. But he didn't throw the bag away from them, as she had expected. Instead he swung it on his own back.

'What are you doing?' she demanded as he pulled her with him to the head of the column.

'Carrying your bag,' he replied curtly.

For a moment she forgot that she was both angry and scared as she stared at him. 'Why?' she asked, puzzled.

He gave her a quizzical look. 'Would you rather I left it behind?' he inquired in a condescending tone.

'Of course not!'

'Then keep quiet,' he ordered. 'Make sure you keep up.' He released his hold on her arm as he almost shoved her against Dori. 'She is your responsibility,' he told the other dwarf. 'Make sure you do not lose her.'

Dori nodded. 'Come on, lass.'

And Kate obeyed. She was too confused to protest at that very moment. She wasn't even sure how she felt anymore. The mix of confusion, fear and physical discomfort made that her brain didn't seem to function properly anymore. The pain was gradually growing worse, developing to that familiar someone-is-stabbing-several-knives-in-my-belly pain that made every step a torment in and out of itself. But self-preservation was stronger than the will to crawl away into a dark corner to wait until it had all ended. She knew that she would not be safe anywhere right now. The Orcs would find them wherever they hid, so all they could really do was run.

She let Dori lead her from one rock formation to the next. In the distance she could hear the Wargs' howling and Radagast's laughing as he outwitted them once again. The wizard really was far too cheerful for all this. If he were to be believed this was just one big joke, nothing dangerous at all. Kate was sure the man's heart was in the right place, but she sure had her doubts about his mental health. Was he suicidal or something?

But now was hardly the time to ponder this. They were still running for their lives, hiding behind rocks as they went, but still Kate felt painfully exposed. There were no trees here anymore and the only cover came from the rocks. And, if she remembered correctly, Radagast's diversion was not going to save them from this. That was in no way a happy thought, or a very encouraging one, but she opted on keeping her mouth shut. Morale was bad enough as it was. They didn't need her to lower it even further.

And so she panicked alone, as Dori dragged her with him again, past Thorin and Gandalf who, now of all times, once again seemed to find themselves in some kind of argument. If anything, those two really needed to get their priorities sorted.

'Where are you leading us?' she could hear Thorin ask, no, demand as they ran past him.

The next moment Kate tripped over some kind of stone she hadn't noticed, falling almost right into his arms, which saved Gandalf from having to answer the question. The wizard was already hurrying back to the head of the column even as Thorin was yanking her back to her feet again.

'I told you to keep up,' he snarled at her, dragging her with him. He waved Dori on and the dwarf obeyed without question.

'Excuse me!' she panted. 'I didn't… really mean… to trip!' The snappiness of that remark was somewhat reduced by her panting. Normally running didn't affect her this much, but normally she didn't go for a run on the day her time of the month came around either. She could feel a headache starting to build in the back of her head as well, making it all even worse.

'Then watch where you're going,' Thorin hissed.

'That's rich!' she retorted. This was weird, really weird, but arguing with him, even as they were still running for their lives, kept both the panic and the pain at bay. It gave her something to focus on, something for which she actually needed her brain. She clung to it for dear life. 'Coming from someone… who has no idea… where he's going himself!'

If he could have afforded to, he would surely have glared at her for that remark. As it was he just pulled her behind yet another rock with him. He all but sandwiched her between the formation and his own body, but a warning glance prevented her from commenting on that.

And the next second she knew why he had wanted her to keep quiet, because it was that particular rock, the one where all their careful plans were going to fail spectacularly. She heard a low growl coming from somewhere above their heads and her heart stopped. She knew that if the movie was right, they would succeed in both killing the beast and making it to Rivendell more or less unscathed, but reason seemed to have abandoned her all of a sudden. Because there was no telling that the real events would actually follow either book or movie. She had seen that before. Right now, she trusted the book as much as she distrusted it.

But at least that blasted movie was right about the amount of danger they were now in. She could hear the dwarves' breathing all around her, but she could hear the sound of a weapon being drawn even better.

'Stay very still,' Thorin hissed in her ear.

She would have snorted if she hadn't actually frozen into place already. She only managed a small nod as she pressed herself against the rock as far as she could to stay out of sight.

The dwarf now turned his attention to Kíli, who got the hint. He only needed two arrows to make short work of both the Warg and its rider, but the sound of dying Warg made enough racket to alarm every Orc on this side of the Misty Mountains, Kate reckoned. It came tumbling down, making a growling, suffocating kind of sound that somehow reminded Kate of a dog throwing up. Its rider turned out to be very much alive still, even if he was injured. Dwalin and Bifur finished him off quickly, but he still managed to produce one hell of a battle scream before he died. And no one needed to tell Kate that this was bad news, very bad news.

'Oh, _shit_!' she cursed under her breath. The frightening situation at least made her forget that her entire body seemed to ache. Her belly was still hurting, her head was throbbing, her lungs were burning and her legs were cramping, but she'd take that any time if it meant she would not get torn apart by those overgrown dogs with bad breaths.

Gandalf shouted something, a command for them to run probably, but Kate didn't need an order to get moving. Her legs seemed to move out of their own volition. The howling behind her was more than enough encouragement to ignore the pain. The adrenaline coursed through her, making her run faster than she had believed herself capable of. Maybe that was just what fear did to a person.

There were hills in the landscape now and even some trees, but they would be no good for hiding now. The enemy was already on their trail and no amount of tree climbing would fool them. She had no idea where Radagast had suddenly gone off too, but she had a feeling that not even the brown wizard and his rabbits would have been able to persuade the Orcs to go after him instead of them.

'Keep up!' Thorin snarled at her when she tripped over her own feet and all but fell. As it was only his firm grip on her right hand prevented her from literally tumbling off the hill.

'I'm trying!' she snapped back. 'I'm not… exactly eager… to make a dog's dinner… out of this.' The quip was slightly less funny than it could have been because of the very serious situation they were still in. Nonetheless Thorin's mouth curled up a little. Whatever this was, these strange bantering arguments, it seemed to help him as well as her.

'Come along,' he told her, the tone a little less harsh than it had been before, if only a little.

Not that _that_ really worked out. The Wargs were faster than they were and in the time it took them to get down the hill their attackers had gone round, surrounding them with ease.

'Shit!' she heard someone curse.

Despite the fact that the big bad wolves were advancing she swivelled her head around in surprise, only to find that it had been Thorin to utter the curse that she thought she had the monopoly on. The dwarf didn't even seem to notice what he had really said here, his eyes checking the place, searching for an escape route. He had to come to the depressing conclusion that there was none.

'Where's Gandalf?' someone shouted.

But the wizard was gone. Maybe it was the shock of that realisation that made her capable of thinking clearly for just a moment. It made her capable of remembering. And she remembered that their salvation was actually near. Gandalf was busy exploring that stupid hidden passage right now and they would be able to flee into it.

Kate looked around frantically, her hopes crushed as there was no sign of that blasted stone anywhere. The panic overtook her and she was only half aware that Thorin released his hold on her hand in favour of grasping his sword, ready to make one final heroic stand. But she didn't want a final stand. She wanted safety and a place to run to. She wasn't made for the heroics. She was too weak for them, as she had been told time and again.

'Get behind me,' Thorin growled.

She didn't see what good that would do, but she obeyed nonetheless. Probably it was just some stupid warrior instinct to protect the weakest member of the company. That would also explain why Dori and Nori shoved their brother next to her in the middle of the circle after the stone from his sling failed to do anything useful, because angering the big bad wolf was not considered to be that.

If circumstances had been different they might have joked about how they were always seen as weaker than they really were. Although Ori was decades older than Kate was, he still came across as a younger brother. Maybe it was because he was so shy, she pondered. No matter what it was, he felt like a sibling to her, and a less annoying one than Jacko at that. And right now his presence seemed to calm her nerves a bit.

Still, it came as a relief when Gandalf called out to them, appearing from a large rock that was almost impossible to overlook. Yet in her panic Kate had done just that. Now she wondered if she had suffered from temporary blindness. It seemed the most obvious thing in the landscape right now.

And as it was, it was their way out. So she grabbed Ori's hand and dragged him with her. 'Let's get out of here!' she yelled.

She didn't look what the others did. She assumed they would be running at full speed to the wizard as well, but she didn't feel the need to look around and check it. Maybe that was unfeeling and rather selfish, but as it was the ground was very uneven and she didn't dare take her eyes off it for fear of not seeing something and falling, only to end up as a literal dog's dinner. No, thank you very much indeed!

Most of the dwarves were already inside the hidden passage when she heard it: heavy paws on the ground, low growling and the sound of another weapon being drawn. The instinct was too strong, she had to look over her shoulder. The next moment she wished she hadn't. It was a large Warg, larger even then the ones she had seen already. And it was far closer to them than she was comfortable with. Atop was an equally large Orc with an evil grin on his face that would surely plague her nightmares for years and years to come. That was, if she would live long enough to ever have them.

Someone yelled at them to run. Kate couldn't quite make out the voice and at the moment that was the very least of her concerns. Because now she was suddenly reminded of why she hadn't looked over her shoulder in the first place: she could fall. And falling was what she did. There wasn't ground where she tried to set her foot, just air, and she only realised she had in all likeliness stepped down a rabbit hole when she was already falling against Ori, sending them both falling to the ground as the Warg came closer at alarming speed.

**Thorin**

It happened like in slow motion, or whatever it was that Miss Andrews liked to call it. It was as if someone slowed down time itself.

He stood atop the rock leading towards the secret tunnel Gandalf had somehow discovered, watching the members of his company run for safety as quickly as their legs could carry them. Most of them were already inside, but Thorin wouldn't dream of following them before the last one had made it here safely. They were his responsibility and, as Kate had so eloquently phrased it, it was mainly his fault that they were being chased by Orcs in the first place, because if he hadn't gone on this quest, all of them would still be safe in the Ered Luin.

And they were not yet safe, not all of them anyway. Kíli was throwing his advice right out of the window, shooting Orcs and Wargs with a deathly precision. The lad was a good archer to be sure, but he was far too reckless for his own good. Miss Andrews and Ori were running at neck-break speed towards the tunnel.

'Kíli!' he bellowed, in a tone that meant _get here as fast as you can, right now!_ for anyone who knew him. Doubtlessly there would be more than enough opportunity to shoot Orcs, if Miss Andrews was to be believed anyway.

Kíli fired one final shot that hit an approaching Orc right in the forehead. The foul creature fell to the ground even as his mount seemed to trip over its own feet. That gave his nephew the chance to make a run for it. There were no other Wargs near him. He would make it to the tunnel well ahead of any pursuers.

Thorin directed his attention back to the other two, only to immediately realise that they should have been his main priority. Ori was doing fine. Initially Kate had been almost literally dragging him in the right direction, but soon the fear drove them both forward and now it would seem that their roles had been reversed. Young and inexperienced though he may be, Ori was now leading Kate, holding her hand, pulling her with him.

Kate was in trouble. It didn't take an expert to see that. Thorin knew she was suffering from that womanly problem again that he really did not want to think about. She was in pain, but it would seem that he had underestimated just how much it was affecting her. Sweat was on her forehead and her face was too pale, almost a shade of grey. He had seen dead bodies with a better colouring.

And things just got worse. Because Kíli may have no pursuers at the moment, Ori and Kate certainly had. There was a Warg with a rider just behind them, closing the distance between them too quickly for Thorin's liking. They would never be able to outrun the "overgrown wolf" as Kate had called it.

'Kate!' He didn't remember giving himself permission to call out to her. He didn't remember since when he even addressed her by her first name. He couldn't even think of one reason why calling her would be useful. She was already running as fast as she could, which, admittedly, wasn't very fast and he would never get to the beast before it could get to them.

Kate seemed to have heard him, but she didn't look at him. Instead she glanced over her shoulder, seeing the beast advancing. At least she was aware of the danger now, even if Ori wasn't yet. It would however been slightly more reassuring if she would have been able to act on this information.

But she wasn't. The beast was too close. Thorin could see Miss Andrews shouted a warning at Ori, who increased his pace. But it was too late. The Warg was close enough to literally jump at the two and all the dwarf king could do was stand there, watch the horror unfold under his very nose, incapable of preventing it.

And then the unexpected happened. He didn't see too well what Miss Andrews did, but by the looks of it she let herself fall against her companion, shoving him so hard he tripped and fell. Both dwarf and human crashed to the ground at the very moment the Warg jumped at them. Its front paws seemed to claw Kate's shoulder, but then it sailed over them and landed on the ground several metres away from them.

Thorin would have taken the time to whisper a quick thanks to Mahal had he not been otherwise preoccupied. 'Kíli, shoot it!' he bellowed. The lad was not yet in the tunnel and right now his skill with the bow was a gift from heaven.

Ori was already on his feet again, but Kate stumbled. Thorin was already on his way to them before he had even consciously decided to do so. He let Kíli deal with any attackers that might show up and made it his own personal responsibility to get the last two to safety.

'Run,' he ordered Ori. The lad seemed to be all right, apart from a few minor scratches where the Warg's paw had gone past his shoulder. Thorin hadn't seen it happening, but he assumed that was what had passed.

The young dwarf shot a hesitant look at Kate, who was quite a bit worse for wear. She seemed to have trouble standing upright, her face twisting in pain whenever she tried to. 'Go,' she told Ori. 'I'll be fine.'

Thorin shoved him in the right direction, knowing he would make it easily on his own. It had been Kate slowing him down just now. He took it upon himself to make sure Kate too would get safely inside that tunnel. He yanked her to her feet, ignoring her yelp of pain as he did so. For once he was grateful that they were about the same height. It made it easier to grasp her waist, the most effective way to drag her with him.

'Run,' he told her.

She nodded, her face still pale. She didn't even seem to notice that one of Kíli's arrows flew past her only a few centimetres away from her face, taking down the Warg that had tried to use their slowness to its advantage. For once there were no protests or witty remarks that got right under his skin. This obedient Kate was a whole new thing, but Thorin had no illusions about it. As soon as they were safe, this side of her would disappear almost immediately. But that did not matter now. They would concern themselves with that later. For now they had to run, because even though Kíli was still shooting Orcs as if he had done nothing else all his life, this place was still practically infested with the foul beasts.

It turned out Thorin had to drag her. Kate was limping and altogether slow and it came down to him half dragging, half carrying her to the entrance. 'Get inside,' he ordered her, a little more harshly than he had intended, but then this was hardly the time to kindly ask her if it would please her to cooperate.

She nodded again, sliding down the slope where she was caught by Balin and Nori. 'Kíli, inside!' he told the archer. He himself would not go down until he knew for sure that all the others were out of danger.

He quickly took in the environment to see if he had missed any of his companions, but all he could see were Wargs and Orcs, both dead and alive. He noticed with a bit of smugness that there appeared to be as many dead as there were alive and all of his companions were out of danger and very much alive, if not unscathed.

Having established that he let himself roll down as well, all but crashing into Kíli, who was helping the advisor to her feet. He meant to ask if everyone was all right, but the sound of a horn outside distracted him. That was no Orc horn to be sure. He knew the sound of those all too well and there was always something wrong with them. They sounded as evil as the creatures that used them.

He looked up as the slaughter outside began, but it was hard to see anything. The opening was not large and the fighting took place too far away from their safe hiding place. But whoever it was that attacked the Orcs now, and Thorin believed it would be a safe bet to say that it were Rangers, they were doing a good job of dealing with the foul creatures. An Orc came rolling down the steep slope, an arrow sticking out of his neck, as dead as the proverbial doornail.

Kate had been standing close and the corpse almost rolled onto her feet. She backed away in disgust, trying her hardest not to look at the enemy, confirming every suspicion Thorin had that she would be next to no use in battle. If she was so easily frightened, she would never hold her nerve on an actual battle ground.

The sound of the battle ceased as quickly as it had begun and the silence returned. Thorin strained his ears, but there was no indication that there was anyone, either friendly or not, out there anymore. The Rangers must have made short work of the Orcs, because if the Orcs had been victorious they would have remained to eat the corpses or, more likely, they would have attempted to get into the dwarves' hiding place. No, Thorin was fairly sure it was again safe outside.

He bended over the Orc's body and pulled the arrow free to study it, only to throw to the ground in disgust as he recognised it. 'Elves!' he spat. Those had not been Rangers that had attacked the Orcs and that must mean they had come far closer to elven territory than Thorin was actually comfortable with. That sly wizard must have known exactly where he was leading them and the dwarf now understood why he had refused to answer Thorin's question of where they were going.

He swivelled around to send a deathly glare Gandalf's way, but the grey wizard, although unable to hide behind his usual smokescreen, still managed to avoid Thorin's icy stare by hiding in the shadow of his hat. It must be some kind of gift to hide in plain sight like that and it frustrated the dwarf to no end.

He was about to add some icy words to the stare when he was distracted by arguing voices. 'I. Am. _Fine_!' someone was snarling. Thorin didn't even need to turn to know it was Kate. The voice was a dead giveaway, but even without it there was only one person he knew who talked like that, apart from his sister. Come to think of it, their tempers could be strangely alike. 'Will you old wives stop fretting?'

'You are hurt,' Dori pointed out.

Thorin turned around to see the advisor leaning against the rock wall, looking anything but fine. In the dim cave light the colour of her skin seemed even more sickly than it had already looked in broad daylight, she had trouble standing upright and there were some wounds on her left shoulder where the Warg had scratched her. Nonetheless she managed to conjure up a fierce glare she sent Dori's way. 'Scratches,' she said dismissively, taking one look at her shoulder before looking at the dwarf again. 'And I think I twisted my ankle, but otherwise I'm okay. Can we just _go_?'

Thorin recognised that tone. She had used it on Fíli and him when she had gotten her womanly problem the first time. Kate Andrews was on the warpath and he would stay far away from that. They had more than enough arguments for one day.

Strangely enough it was Dwalin who protested against the notion. 'You're bleeding, lass,' he pointed out. 'There's blood on your trousers. Óin should have a look at it before we go on.'

It was one of those occasions that Thorin would have gladly banged his head against the wall. He couldn't really blame his old friend for not being aware of Miss Andrews's monthly problem, but it _did_ make things rather awkward.

Kate's face flushed as red as Bombur's hair. 'That's normal,' she blurted out. 'Woman thing.'

'Oh.' Dwalin was not the only one who was positively shocked by this very unwelcome piece of information. He quickly marched off to explore the rest of the cave and more than the half of the others started to carry out a devoted study of either the ceiling or the floor.

Thorin left the scene. With Ori going on and on about how Kate had saved his life – which even Thorin had to admit she indeed had, although how she had managed to pull it off remained a complete mystery to him – she would have the undying gratitude of his two brothers, especially the eldest one. She wouldn't want for assistance in the foreseeable future and Thorin was glad to be rid of her for a while.

He marched back to the entrance, trying to determine whether it would be safe to climb back out and continue on as they had before. He was quite sure this cave would lead on and on, but he wasn't sure he wanted to follow a path with an unknown destination. Well, it wasn't really unknown. Gandalf carefully avoiding to meet his eyes gave him a fairly good idea of what was at the end and he was determined not to go there.

On the other hand, going back outside would not be the best idea either. They would be painfully exposed on these plains and chances were the Orcs were still out there. Could he really take that risk and lead his people back into danger when he could avoid it?

In the end the decision was taken out of his hands. 'I cannot see where the pathway leads!' Dwalin reported. 'Do we follow it or no?'

Thorin was still making up his mind when Bofur replied. He threw one suspicious glance towards the entrance and then said: 'Follow it of course.' The group had already started moving before Thorin could even start to think about voicing his protests. And he wasn't even sure he didn't want to go there. At any rate it might be better than the alternative. And so he swung Kate's backpack over his shoulder again and followed his men, even when Gandalf's muttered 'I think that would be wise' made him want to turn around on the spot. After all, what else was there to be done?

* * *

From Kate's notes: _I am starting to wonder which is worse: death by vicious Orc or death by fussing dwarf?_

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**That's it for this week. I'm not sure how good I am at writing all the action, but I hope it turned out all I was going to end this chapter at the end of Kate's POV, but I figured that would be kind of mean, so I made it a bit longer. This story seems to be working best with longr chapters, so I hope you don't mind.  
**

**And since I have no college this week I might be able to upload an extra chapter on either Wednesday or Thursday. I'm not making promises, but I think I can make it. So, next time there'll be elves, annoyed Thorin, annoyed Gandalf and a bit of a scheming Kate. Until then, please review?**


	12. Chapter 12 Into the Valley

**Hello, dear readers. So yes, I did make it. I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!**

**And I wanted to say thank you for the guest reviews, since I can't do so by PM. I may not say it each chapter, but they are also very much appreciated!**

**Anyway, enough of my rambling and on with the story. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 12**

**Into the Valley**

_I knew of course exactly what was lying at the end of the path and unless I was very much mistaken, Thorin did too. The scowl on his face spoke volumes, as did Gandalf's altogether smug expression. No doubt they would start arguing again first chance they got, but for now Gandalf wisely kept some distance between him and the vexed dwarf king._

_The rest of the company seemed wholly unsuspecting of the grey wizard's ulterior motives and so we merrily walked, or in my case stumbled, along. From all the members of the company it would seem I had had the worst luck. My trip halfway down the rabbit hole, no matter how fortunate, had twisted my ankle and the wounds caused by the Warg started burning as well. Add the pain I was already experiencing and you get one very short-tempered Kate. I am afraid to say that I once again took it out on my companions, although I seriously doubt Dori would have stopped his bloody fussing even if I called him every foul name I could think of. I had tried to explain that I hadn't been trying to be the heroine, that me pushing Ori out of the way was just dumb luck and had nothing to do with me whatsoever. I don't think he even heard a word I said. He patiently supported me throughout the walk, ignoring my protests. He should have become a doctor for all the patience he had with me, even when I was being downright impossible._

_It was only when we finally caught sight of our destination that I managed to snap myself out of my bad mood. The sight of the hidden elven city made me forget about my physical discomfort for a while and I just stared at the almost unearthly beauty of it all. There were however some people who did not appreciate the sight…_

**Thorin**

Thorin had suspected where they were going already, but when they reached the end of the path and the high rock walls gave way to a peaceful valley he knew for sure. Gandalf had led them right into the arms of his enemy.

He hang back a bit, even as the rest of the company was staring open-mouthed at the elven city. Most of them admired the beauty of it and Thorin would be the last one to deny that the hidden valley was indeed very beautiful to behold. It was only its occupants he had a problem with. His companions would not think of that immediately and Thorin couldn't even blame them. More than half of them were not even born yet when the elves so horribly betrayed them. They did not remember what had happened then; they had never even seen a real elf. But Thorin had and the thought of his worst enemies living here spoiled even its magnificent beauty for him.

'The valley of Imladris,' Gandalf announced with that too pleased smile on his face. 'But in the common tongue it is known by a different name.'

'Rivendell,' Mr Baggins breathed. The hobbit was deeply in awe of the scene in front of him. There was an amazed smile on his face. He for one surely did not have a problem with where they had gone.

'Here lies the Last Homely House east of the sea,' Gandalf said. The wizard was leaning on his staff. He looked far too harmless and innocent for such a scheming man. For some reason this enraged Thorin even more.

'This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy!' he accused him. At least that wiped that annoyingly innocent smile off his face. The wizard knew that he had done something that the leader of the company did not approve of. And if Thorin had anything to say in the matter, he would give this man a piece of his mind, making him think twice about pulling such a stunt ever again.

'You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield.' Gandalf reminded him a lot of a stern parent chastising his headstrong child and the fact that he was looking down on him did not help, not at all. 'The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself!' The tone became more irritated now than anything else.

_Keep on dreaming, old man_, Thorin thought, but he knew better than to say that. 'You think the elves will give our quest their blessing?' he demanded in a low growl. Kate had phrased it perfectly: right now he swore he wanted to do nothing more than hit the wizard. 'They will try to stop us.' And Gandalf should be well aware of that.

The reasons for this were as easy to guess as they were unfair. Some, mostly those from Thranduil's realm, feared that if Smaug were to be chased out of Erebor he would come to Mirkwood and burn it to the ground. Thorin could not care less about that scenario. He would even point the drake in the right direction if it were to come to that. Others simply had no love of dwarves and would prevent them from rebuilding their most powerful kingdom if they could. A strong and thriving Erebor would be a political power to be reckoned with and especially the elves had no ambition to have to take the dwarves into consideration. The way they had lived for years now was the way they liked the dwarves best: scattered and powerless, incapable of presenting a strong united front. If, no _when_, Erebor was reclaimed the dwarves would be strong again and there was more than one elf who feared that day. No, he did not think they would receive any kind of help here, no matter how much Gandalf wished for it.

Said wizard seemed wholly unconcerned. 'Of course they will,' he said calmly.

'Then it's probably best that we don't tell them about it.'

Both men turned as one in the direction of the voice, only to see their professional adviser hop over to them. The woman was still unhealthily pale, limping and visibly exhausted, but the determined look was back in her eyes and it was clear that her condition did not mean that her wits had abandoned her. Or maybe they had. Because did she really think they would be allowed to stay here if they didn't tell the elves how they had come to be here in the first place?

Gandalf favoured her with as stern a look as he had just unleashed on the dwarf king. 'We have questions that need answering,' he told her.

Kate's eyebrows seemed to knit together as she frowned. 'No, we don't!' she replied forcefully. There was also some annoyance in her voice, no doubt caused by her physical condition and her anger at the wizard's behaviour. 'We already know what is on that map. We sure as hell don't need to ask Lord Elrond about it.' She snorted. 'And even if we want to check if that text is really on that map, we can just wait for Midsummer to come around and hold that map against the moonlight ourselves.'

Thorin was with her on that one. He would, of course, ascertain for himself that Kate's book had given him the truth, but even if it hadn't he would never show something that sensitive to an elf who wouldn't think a second about trying to stop him the moment he learned of the true purpose of their journey. But he also knew that it would be almost impossible to hide why they were travelling east. So he folded his arms over his chest and challenged her. 'What would you have us do then?'

Kate shrugged. 'We lie, of course.'

It took Thorin some seconds to convince himself that he in fact had heard this proposal come out of Miss Andrews's mouth and then he could only just stop his jaw from dropping wide open. The casual ease with which she launched this proposition seemed so out of character for her. Kate always struck him as a hothead, someone who excelled in yelling at people – and hitting them whenever she got really mad – but who lacked the cold determination it took to lie to others. In the weeks he had been in her company he had learned that the woman could not lie to save her own life, let alone the lives of others.

Kate misinterpreted his, and Gandalf's, silence as an unspoken request to explain herself. 'We can say you lot travel east to visit your kin in the Iron Hills for some kind of trade agreement or whatever it is that you think would make for a believable reason to travel in that direction.'

Thorin frowned. He could hardly even believe that he was having this conversation, let alone that he had this conversation with Kate Andrews. Her proposal went against everything he had always been taught about how one should behave. But there was something strangely exciting about doing this. The next question had already left his mouth before he had given himself permission to do so. 'And how would you fit yourself and Mr Baggins in this company, Miss Andrews?'

If he had been hoping to silence her with this, he was being disappointed. The response was almost immediate. 'Oh, I am from Bree. I have kin living east of the Misty Mountains, but my family thought it too dangerous to let me travel alone, so I joined your company to have companions on the journey.' She looked thoughtful for a moment. 'And as for Bilbo, well, it is not unheard of for hobbits, especially when they have Took blood running in their veins, to go and have adventures every now and then, is it?'

Gandalf nodded, albeit reluctantly. He made it no secret he was absolutely opposed to this course of action.

Kate ignored him. 'Well then, Bilbo just wanted to see the world and you agreed to let him come with you as long as he didn't make a nuisance of himself,' she finished with a casual shrug of the shoulder, as if this was the most normal thing to do in the world.

Thorin once again found himself lost for words. The lies came tumbling from her lips as if it were nothing. There was something deeply disturbing about that and it was maybe even more so that, had he not known better, he might have even believed them. The stories were plausible. This would not be the first time a delegation of dwarves crossed the Misty Mountains to get some kind of agreement done with the Iron Hills, nor would it be strange for a lonely woman to travel in a bigger group and who would be surprised at a small hobbit wanting to see the world? So yes, that last one would be frowned upon maybe, but Thorin was fairly sure no one would question it. Gandalf's presence was also easily explained, because a wizard was a good one to have for company on the roads, especially in the wilderness.

The longer he thought about it, the more he started to see the merits of this plan, even though he'd never admit that when called on it. It was becoming rather alarming how often he seemed to agree with the advisor, and that on one single day. He even started to notice a pattern, because they only ever seemed to be on the same side when they were in some kind of immediate danger or where Gandalf was concerned. It was remarkable how one wizard's scheming behaviour managed to get them on the same side. He briefly wondered whether that was intentional. Thorin certainly wouldn't put it past the old man.

Speaking of which, he certainly didn't seem to be too enthusiastic about the prospect of lying to one he considered his friend. 'Lord Elrond is a friend of mine,' he pointed out. 'There will be no need for lies in this valley.'

'There will be,' Kate disagreed immediately. 'If the movie is right, then there is a need to lie about our purpose in the east.' She caught Thorin's confused glance and added: 'The other version of the story.' She turned back to Gandalf. Thorin saw the tell-tale signs of an approaching anger attack, even when she still had to hold on to the nearest rock for support. During the argument that had started between them the dwarf had almost lost sight of her weakened state. Her sharp words and fiery glares made it sometimes far too easy to overlook everything else. 'And you know that very well, because you know the movie, probably just as well as I do. And then you will also know that the real events seem to be following the movie's an alarming amount of the time.'

Thorin was still wary where her story was concerned, but the fact that Gandalf looked at least a bit ashamed dispelled that for just a short while. But unfortunately Gandalf's ashamed state lasted only for a few seconds. 'Then you will also know that no matter what this quest will continue.'

Kate's jaw set. 'And we will leave this place like thieves in the night,' she countered easily. 'No, thanks very much.'

The dwarf king could see there was another counterargument coming on from Gandalf, but he had heard enough. Kate was all but dead on her feet, and the rest of the company was just plain exhausted. They had lingered here far too long and by now Thorin had accepted that they would at least have to ask for help here, if only to have a place where they could see to their injuries and restock their supplies. No matter how much he hated the elves, to turn back now would be foolish indeed. But they were going to do it his way this time, not Gandalf's, and so he finally decided to pull his weight. 'Very well,' he said. 'We'll do it your way.'

Gandalf for one second seemed to think that Thorin was talking to him, but then noticed that his gaze was actually pointed in Kate's direction. 'Thorin…' he tried.

But Thorin cut him off. He had tolerated the wizard's overbearing behaviour for far too long and he had just about enough of it. 'No,' he said. Anyone who knew him knew that that tone meant that the subject was not up for discussion. 'We'll do this Kate's way.'

Two pairs of eyebrows shot up at the mention of Kate's first name, something he hadn't been known to do much before, even though she kept insisting, but Thorin pretended not to take notice of their reactions. If he made this look completely natural, then he might prevent them from asking questions he did not want to answer, because he wasn't sure he had an actual answer to them.

'We have lingered here far too long already,' he went on. 'We should continue now. Some of us have injuries that need medical attention.'

Gandalf took a deep breath and fixed both Thorin and Kate with his most disapproving stare, muttering something about the stubbornness of dwarves, but then nodded. 'If this is to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me.'

Thorin was not enthusiastic about that last proposal, but he knew he had to pick his battles and this wasn't worth getting into another fight for. So he gave the smallest and curtest of nods. 'Agreed.'

Gandalf was already on his way before the last syllable had even left his mouth, which left him with Kate, who was smiling, if only a little. 'Unless I am very much mistaken, he just called himself charming,' she muttered.

That hadn't yet occurred to him and he needed to stifle a smirk at that particular idea. The wizard was a lot of things, but charming wasn't one of his qualities, not as far as Thorin knew anyway. 'You are not mistaken,' he told her. He glanced around him, but the others were already following Gandalf. Even Dori was too busy fussing over his youngest brother's injuries to remember Kate. He sighed. But then, they seemed to have some kind of truce, maybe even alliance, so he figured it wouldn't be offensive to offer his assistance. After all, Miss Andrews had still difficulty walking. She wouldn't get down to the valley all on her own and certainly not with the pace Gandalf was currently maintaining. And so he offered her his arm to lean on.

She eyed it warily, but also with some confusion as if she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with it. 'Is this you showing off your magnificent armour or…?' Her voice trailed off hesitantly.

Surprised he had to even answer that question, he replied with a curt: 'You need the help, Miss Andrews. You can't walk on your own.'

He received the full benefits of her most annoyed glance. 'Now don't _you_ start as well!' she complained.

What was this? He was actually trying to make an effort to be kind to her. Mahal knew she deserved it after her brave actions today, and here she was, insulting him. 'You do not wish for my assistance?' The question was asked in a voice that Kíli used to call dangerously low.

Kate snorted. 'I have the entire company fretting over my health already,' she clarified. 'I thought I could at least rely on you not to fuss.'

A small smile tugged at his lips. He had known already that Miss Andrews hated to be in the centre of all the attention, lashing out at those that tried to give her more attention than she liked. He had just not realised this attitude also extended to when she was injured, but now that he came to think of it, it made some kind of sense. He recognised that same hate of fussing in his own character.

'This is not fussing,' he informed her.

She snorted again. 'That's right,' she muttered. 'You don't do fussing. You just snap and order and make us all go on till we drop onto the ground in exhaustion, but you certainly do not fuss.'

For a moment he thought she was insulting him again and he was fully prepared to react to that, when he saw the teasing smile on her face. So he favoured her with a guff look, but no a tongue-lashing. The events of the past day had made that fragile truce into something a little stronger, a frail alliance if you liked. She was still too weak to hold her own in battle, but she had saved the life of one of the members of his company when he himself had been unable to and for that he owed her. She may not want to be here, but she had gotten herself injured whilst saving a life and that had to count for something. He may not like her book or her very presence in this company, but after today he had to be more civil to her than he had been before. He would be to anyone after they had proven their worth and Miss Andrews could not be the exception to that rule.

'And you would rather die from exhaustion and injury than let anyone take care of you,' he countered.

Kate gave him a mocking glance. 'Is that the pot I hear, calling the kettle black?' she inquired sweetly.

This wasn't their usual exchange of witticisms, not quite. It missed the harsh tones, but Thorin found that in this very moment he could not really care about those things. He blamed the exhaustion and relief at having successfully escaped their attackers. No doubt they would resume their usual arguments after they had rested.

For now they just followed the others, albeit at a slower pace because of Kate's ankle. The woman was obviously in pain judging by the expression on her face, but he knew better than to ask if she needed assistance. No matter how weak and injured she might be, she would still bite off his head for having the guts to fuss over her, even if he was not really fussing at all.

The solution to this problem presented itself about five minutes later. They were slowly descending into the valley and there were trees now on either side of the road. It wasn't long before Thorin spotted a relatively long thin branch lying beside the path. A storm might have blown it from the tree. It wouldn't be too heavy and it seemed to be of the right size.

He picked it up, examined it for a moment and then all but shoved it into Kate's hands. 'Take this,' he told her.

Her eyebrows shot up. 'And what am I supposed to do with this?' she questioned.

The dwarf was severely tempted to roll his eyes. 'Use it as a walking stick,' he instructed her impatiently. 'With the pace you're maintaining we will not reach the end of this path before nightfall.' The stick would be able to make her move faster than she had until now. She would go even quicker if he had been allowed to help her, but as it was, he did value his head.

Kate took it and let her eyes wander over it. 'An oaken branch,' she muttered, amused. 'How appropriate.'

Thorin refrained from commenting on this, merely raising an eyebrow at her. 'If you are quite finished talking to yourself, perhaps we can move on,' he told her brusquely.

She shot him an irritated glance. 'I never asked for your company, you know.' The tone was a bit snappy, but blessedly deprived of the usual sharp edge. Nevertheless she did as he had advised and started moving again. And they indeed proceeded faster now. They were still a long way behind the rest of the company – they could see their backs somewhere in the distance – but they weren't falling further behind either.

And that made Thorin feel slightly more at ease, if only slightly so. The further they went into the elven territory, the more he wanted to make a run in the opposite direction. He had the unnerving feeling that he was being watched by hostile eyes, even making him feel like he could be pierced by an arrow from behind at any moment. Why in Durin's name had he even agreed to Gandalf's latest foolish scheme? They should never have come here at all!

So when there was noise coming from the forest around them it took all the self-control he possessed not to jump and swivel around to see where it was coming from. Kate too seemed to be ill at ease, although that might be the natural result of her condition as well. But then she tilted her head and started to smile.

'Why are you laughing?' he demanded.

'They're singing,' she said in an amazed voice. 'Listen.'

He felt hardly inclined to do as she asked, but he obeyed nonetheless, and found that she was right.

'_O! What are you doing?_

_And where are you going?_

_What goal are you pursuing?_

_We have no way of knowing!_

_O! Tra-la-la-lally,_

_Here in the valley!'_

Thorin could make out the words and the melody now that he strained his ears, even though he had still no clue as to where the song was coming from. Maybe it was this blasted forest or even this entire valley. There was magic here. He could feel it in his bones and if anything, that only unsettled him more. This place wasn't natural.

And the song went on.

'_O! Where are you going_

_With beards all a-wagging?_

_Your pace is slowing_

_And your steps are dragging_

_Into the valley_

_In June_

_Ha! Ha!'_

Kate frowned. 'Is it just my imagination or are they actually insulting us?' It was a small wonder this got to her since she was obviously the one slowing them down, even if Thorin didn't really blame her for it.

'They are elves,' he therefore told her. 'That is what they do.' And this completely ridiculous song was the very least of their offences. Thorin had no trouble in naming at least ten other ones.

The young woman only huffed. 'And to think that I actually thought I would like them when I met them,' she muttered under her breath.

That had him frowning. 'Why in Durin's name would you like them?'

Miss Andrews shrugged. 'The author of the book wrote about them as if they were very interesting,' she replied. 'But I guess that if they think they should greet us with insult, I might need to change my mind.'

Somehow he quite liked the sound of that. They didn't speak anymore as they preceded further into the elven realm, the song still audible in the forest around them. It varied from those minor insults to downright nonsense. To other people it might have been beautiful, peaceful and cheerful, but to Thorin it served only as a firm reminder that he was deep inside his enemy's territory, where he should expect no warm welcome whatsoever. He walked faster, ignoring the fact that his companion was not quite able to move so fast with her injured ankle.

'Slow down, will you?' came the indignant protest in the end. 'You may be perfectly able to walk as if the devil himself was at your heels, but I am not.'

He slowed his pace, but only a little. 'I remember you saying you hadn't asked for company,' he countered.

She deflected that with ease. 'But I'm not exactly refusing it either.' She rolled her eyes. 'And like you, I'm not really anxious to be here out on my own.' When he gave her a quizzical look, she added: 'Well, it is a bit weird, isn't it? The singing?'

He realised that if Miss Andrews had noticed his behaviour it must be far too obvious and so he resigned himself to falling into step with her, wiping all expressions from his face. He was the leader of the company and he did not show fear.

Kate gave him the smallest of smiles before her face twisted in pain again as she made a wrong movement. She bit her lip. 'And all those insults are getting really on my nerves. How about we give them a taste of their own medicine?' The pain was still there, but it was mingled with a mischievous twinkle that he could not remember ever seeing there before.

'What do you mean?' he demanded.

'Well, if they keep serenading us, it seems only fair we return the favour, don't you think?' She didn't wait for an answer, but sang a verse of her own as soon as the singers in the woods had finished one of theirs.

'_O! What are you going on about_

_With that song we're not enjoying?_

_You lot are too loud_

_And downright annoying_

_Right here in the valley_

_Ha! Ha!'_

Thorin tried and failed to stifle a smirk at her bold words. The elves fell silent and somewhere down the road the company skidded to a stop as Gandalf turned around to send her a glare that could well be described as deadly. But after a few moments the elves in the woods started to laugh and then Gandalf relaxed as well.

And somehow, for the first time since they had entered this accursed place, it seemed to Thorin that maybe this was not as bad as he had feared.

**Kate**

Rivendell was a marvel, Kate pondered as they crossed the bridge leading to some kind of round terrace. Thorin and she had caught up to the rest shortly after her singing. Apparently they had only become aware of their absence then and Dori had made it his personal responsibility to apologise to her for not thinking about her sooner. In tenfold.

It wasn't that she disliked the dwarf. She appreciated his caring, she really did, but the idea that his fussing could be too much for some people seemed not to have occurred to him yet. Kate was actually grateful for the stick Thorin had found for her. It was easy to handle and allowed her to walk on her own. If she didn't know better she would have said Thorin understood her better than any other in this company. But all their arguments in the past week were evidence to the contrary, so she quickly dismissed that thought. No doubt the dwarf was grateful that he didn't have to support her again like he had when they were running from the Wargs.

He of course had left her to Dori and his fussing first chance he got, too preoccupied with looking around him in suspicion, hands dangerously close to his weapon. He wasn't the only dwarf ill at ease; most of the company was glancing around them, giving every impression of wanting to be somewhere else. Kate was a bit surprised to find that she was no real exception to this. Rivendell was beautiful and peaceful, that was undeniable, but it was unearthly so. Something about the light, the buildings and even the very air made her feel like this place was not meant for mortals. She did not belong here.

For the first time since being thrown into Middle Earth she really felt like she was in another world. Dwarves, hobbits and wizards were not races that were known in her own world, but in a way they felt as normal human beings with all their good and bad sides. The elves, she felt, would be vastly different.

Gandalf was the only one who behaved as if he were at home here. He leaned on his staff casually, a smile on his face. No doubt he was congratulating himself on getting them all here, despite Thorin's continued protests. She shook her head, trying to determine what on earth she was supposed to think about him. He had abducted her, tricked her and forced her to go on a quest that might just get her killed, yet she found it almost impossible to remain cross with him. Maybe that was because she knew deep down that the wizard meant well. He stood guard over this world, but she would really appreciate it if he at least told her why she was here.

'You all right, lass?' Dwalin asked her.

Kate could only just refrain from raising an eyebrow in surprise. The warrior was never that talkative, and definitely not to her. He thought her a nuisance and a liability and if today hadn't proved him right, she wouldn't know what would.

'I'll be all right, thanks,' she told him. _As soon as I can have a bath, some clean clothes, some food and some real good painkillers._ The headache was bearable now, faded to a dull throbbing in the back of her head which she could easily ignored. Her other injuries were another matter entirely. The cuts on her shoulders hurt, even if they had stopped bleeding now, her ankle protested loudly against every step she forced it to take and her belly was worst of all. It had been doable up to the point that she had been running to the tunnel with Ori, but then she had fallen on it, sending stabs of pain from the already sore spot to the rest of her body, making walking a complete nightmare. Ranting against Dori's bloody fussing and arguing with Thorin and Gandalf had kept her mind away from it, but Dwalin asking about it made it somehow all the worse. 'And tanks so much for reminding me,' she added in a low growl.

He ignored that. 'Kíli told me what you did out there,' he said.

Kate sent him a glare. 'Except that I didn't,' she retorted. Much as she would like to get some measure of respect from him – because it would make life in the company so much easier – she didn't want to get it by lying. 'I stepped down a rabbit hole and tripped, taking him down with me. It wasn't intentional and it wasn't heroic. It was a stupid bloody accident!'

Her voice had been rising throughout that speech, but only when she had finished it she realised that the entire company was staring at her. She quickly looked down at her boots to avoid their inquisitive stares.

Fortunately for her, help was coming. An elf was descending the stairs with more grace than any real person had a right to have. He exchanged some words with Gandalf, but Kate was too far away to hear what was being said. She had noticed that her companions were grouping together and that once again she ended up with Ori and Bilbo, the other weak ones, forced into the middle of the group.

'Honestly, do they think that one elf is going to kill us all the moment they let us out of their sight?' she mumbled under her breath, so softly only her fellow victims-of-fussing could hear her.

The next moment she wished she hadn't spoken. A horn sounded behind them and that seemed to send the dwarves into full battle mode. They formed a circle, squashing the three of them together in a way that would have been considered extremely compromising in normal situations, but now sent pain through her entire body as someone poked something against her sore abdomen.

Of course it had to be the pain in the arse king as well. 'Get off me!' she hissed at him. 'You're hurting me!'

She only got another glare for her troubles. 'You could get hurt if we break ranks,' he hissed at her.

She tried to shove him, but it took more than that to get him to move. She could have been pushing against a solid wall for all the good it did. 'You're hurting me now, you big oaf!' she shot back. 'And they're not going to hurt us. Now will you kindly just bugger off?' She hit her fist against his armour, which only succeeded in bruising her own hand. The dwarf probably hadn't felt a thing.

He did the thing he clearly did best: he ignored her. The elves had surrounded them by now and he had clearly more important thing to do than to argue with her. And even Kate had to admit that there was something very unnerving about these elves on their horses. Her height had not really been an issue in the company where only Gandalf was really taller than she was, but right now, she felt strangely small and insignificant. Maybe it had not been such a good idea to insult them with her song after all…

But as it was Lord Elrond didn't even look at them. He started a conversation with Gandalf in his own language, plainly ignoring the fact that there were more people here than just his warriors and the grey wizard. It seemed downright rude to Kate.

It was only when Elrond remarked on the presence of Orcs so close to the border that they switched to the common tongue again.

'Ah, that may have been us,' Gandalf admitted, even though if Elrond had half a brain he would have arrived at that conclusion approximately five minutes earlier.

The elf now turned to face them – finally – and the dwarves lowered their weapon and broke the formation, for which Kate was grateful. The irony, so she now saw, was that Thorin had poked her with her own backpack, that he for some reason was still carrying. How strange things could be every now and then.

She was about to exhale in relief when she was startled by a hand slipping around her wrist.

'What are you doing?' she hissed.

The owner of that hand did not even bother with an answer. 'Stay close,' he ordered her.

She couldn't suppress another snort. 'And here I was just about to go and explore the place.'

Thorin ignored that too, all but dragging her with him a few steps closer to the elf lord. His grip was rather firm and she was sure it would leave some kind of bruising, but telling him that would probably be just as useful as her attempts to shove him away.

Elrond glanced at her, but then his gaze shifted towards Thorin. 'Welcome Thorin, son of Thráin,' he said, more courteous now.

But Thorin was not in the mood for being courteous now, it would seem. 'I do not believe we have met,' he told Elrond bluntly. Kate would have kicked him if she thought he would actually feel that and she would be sure she would not injure herself any further in the process.

'You have your grandfather's bearing,' Elrond replied calmly. 'I knew Thrór when he ruled under the Mountain.'

Thorin's most icy stare never as much as wavered, even if it failed to have the desired effect on the elf. 'Indeed?' he asked in a disbelieving voice. 'He made no mention of you.'

Elrond ignored the words as well as the stare, returning his attention to Kate. 'I do not believe I know your name, my lady.'

'My name is Catherine,' she replied automatically. She didn't really know why she used her full name. She hated hearing it most of the time, because she thought it both too long and too aristocratic to fit her. In her world she only ever used it for those people she didn't really like. But that was strange, because she didn't really dislike the elf. But it just came out that way, so she stuck with it, hoping Thorin wouldn't act too surprised. 'I am from Bree, my lord.'

Elrond nodded slowly, although she did think there was a hint of confusion in his eyes. But she could not be sure. The elf's face was practically unreadable, which was frustrating in and out of itself. He gave her the impression he saw far more than she was prepared to let him see. Why on earth had lying seemed like a good idea again?

But it didn't last long. Thorin took over the conversation again. 'The Lady Catherine was injured on the road,' he said. Nothing in either his tone or his face betrayed that he was the least surprised about the name she had given to Lord Elrond.

Kate could only just stop herself from raising a quizzical eyebrow when Thorin referred to her as a lady. Maybe it was just one of those customs here and after all Elrond had started this himself by calling her _my lady_. She let it go for now. She wasn't in the mood to correct him now.

Elrond was quick to offer them both food and the services of his healers and Thorin accepted, albeit grudgingly. He really was a proud dwarf, Kate had come to learn. It must have cost him a great deal to swallow his pride and ask for help, never mind asking help from those he considered enemies. But she had also come to learn that he cared for his company above everything else. He was a true leader in that respect and it made it easier for her to see why these dwarves had all followed him on a near impossible quest. Good grief, he even cared for her even though he hated her with a passion. That had to be saying something.

'If you would follow me, my lady?' the other elf – Lindir? – asked. He seemed a nice enough fellow, even though his manners were a bit stiff.

Kate nodded. 'Of course,' she replied, making to hop over to him, only to discover that Thorin had yet to let go of her hand. 'Ehm…'

But the dwarf wasn't even looking at her. He stared at the elf with his most icy look, the one that might even have Gandalf look away. 'She travels under my protection. Treat her ill and you will answer to me,' he warned.

The elf simply nodded, even if he did look rather uncomfortable under Thorin's intense gaze. 'No harm will come to her here, Thorin Oakenshield,' he promised, holding a hand over his heart.

It was only then that Kate's hand was released. She rolled her eyes at the dwarf and then followed the elf to the healers.

* * *

From Thorin's notes: _This is worse than I could possibly have imagined._

* * *

**That's it for today. I hope I didn't mess up the song completely. I'm bad enough at rhyming in my own language, so I'm not sure how bad it was in English.**

**I do hope the reasons why the elves don't like the idea of dwarves taking back Erebor make some sense. It is mentioned that they don't like the idea, but if I remember correctly it is never explained why.**

**Anyway, the next chapter should be up Sunday. Until then, please review? **


	13. Chapter 13 Dinner Talks

**Hello dear readers, here's chapter 13 for you. I hope you'll enjoy it and let me please know what you think.**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**Dinner Talks**

_I can't say what a relief it was to finally get some painkillers. The healers laughed a bit at my surprise at how well their medicines worked, but then went on with their job. They made me take a bath – against which I surely was not protesting – and then cleaned the cuts on my shoulder and bandaged them. They scolded me for walking so long on that injured foot, to which I am ashamed to admit I snapped at them what else they had wanted me to do: sit down and ask the wargs kindly to wait and attack until I was fully recovered? The elven healers just shook their heads and went on with their work. They treated me like I was some rebelling child, which vexed me all the more. Although, in hindsight I might have to admit that I was acting like one._

_Rivendell felt to me like a safe haven, a place to rest in spite of the insults and silly nonsense that the elves had greeted us with. They were nice enough to me and I supposed their less than complimentary behaviour earlier was only due to the fact that elves and dwarves had never been particularly fond of one another._

_All in all, the elves made me feel rather welcome. I only wish the same could be said for the rest of the company…_

**Thorin**

Thorin was too restless to remain seated. He blamed the fact that he was in a strange elven city for that. It felt unnatural to him and the very idea that it was practically infested with the people he considered enemies didn't make it any better.

The rest of the group didn't seem affected by it. They were laughing and talking again, washing the dirt of the road away or seeing to the injuries they had sustained during the encounter with the orc pack. Ori had some nasty scratches, as had Dwalin. They had come out of the fight more or less unscathed for the rest. Thorin supposed that they had indeed been very lucky. Things could have been far worse.

Not that this knowledge did anything to put his nerves at ease. The elves had offered them their hospitality, that much was true, but Thorin was no fool. They had only done so for Gandalf's sake. Had the dwarves turned up without the wizard he was one hundred percent sure his company would have been sent away immediately. It only strengthened his resolve not to let Lord Elrond anywhere near his map, even if that meant he had to take Kate's word for the message it contained. That was in this case definitely the lesser of two evils.

Her absence was getting at his nerves as well. For all intents and purposes she was a member of his company now. She had signed the contract and in her own unique way she had gained a place among them. No matter how much he told himself that she was a burden, she had helped a lot in their encounter with the trolls, even when she could and should not have come to their aid. Saving Ori today, even if only the result of an accident, was another thing that had gained her respect. The woman had her uses and therefore it was his job to worry about her wellbeing.

And the fact that the elves had taken a member of the company and had so far failed to return her was making him restless. She had not been that badly injured. He tried to suppress the irrational theory that the elves had abducted her, knowing that Gandalf never would allow such a thing to happen to the advisor he had chosen, not after he had gone to such trouble to get her here in the first place.

The general mood was cheerful again now that they temporarily didn't have to worry about being torn to bits by overgrown wolves. Bombur, Kíli and Bofur were by far the loudest of the merry band, laughing at their own jokes, exaggerating how many wargs and orcs they had been able to kill. Thorin was sure they were exaggerations, because if they had all killed the number they had claimed to then the orc pack would have been killed in its entirety, four times over.

He was startled when something crashed to the ground. A quick look over his shoulder taught him that once again it was Miss Andrews's backpack. Ori, having tripped over what appeared to be his own feet, crashed into the pile of luggage and sent it flying to the ground. Fortunately all the bags remained closed, save for Kate's. The contents sprawled all over the place.

'I am really sorry!' Ori started to apologise.

Thorin silenced him with a look. He needed only three big steps to reach the mess. 'You may sit back down,' he told the company's scribe, a little too harshly perhaps, but he was not going to tell the dwarf why.

His eye caught the dreaded book and he all but snatched it off the floor to avoid people getting a closer look. For all their arguments about it, no one in the company apart from Gandalf, Kate and Thorin himself had realised that the knowledge Kate claimed to have stemmed from a book she was carrying on her person, nor did they know that this knowledge had the alarming tendency to come true. Thorin wasn't anxious to change that situation. It might cause panic to break out among his men when they learned what lay ahead. Sometimes it really was better not to know what was still coming. Thorin hadn't even read much of what was written, but those bits and pieces had haunted his dreams of late and he didn't wish that on his companions.

'I can help,' Ori offered.

Thorin conjured up his most reassuring expression, something Balin used to joke about, since in his opinion that would still send most people running for the hills without as much as a second thought. 'You have been injured,' he told the scribe. 'Take a rest.' It was more of an order than a suggestion.

And indeed Ori made for his brothers without questioning the command, leaving Thorin to repack Kate's bag. Once again he marvelled at the rubbish she had packed in it. Why would she be so attached to a few books or a kind of box that could not open?

He gathered her water bottle and the books and stuffed them back inside, not feeling the need to further investigate the other books for fear they also dealt with events that still had to happen. So far he had only seen and heard about just one book, but he wasn't sure that was the only one. They had never really discussed the subject anyway. The book only seemed to come up in arguments and that was hardly the time to learn of such matters.

This would have been the end of it as far as the dwarf was concerned, had not a stray piece of paper fallen out of a book onto the ground. Now of course he could have simply picked it up without looking and put it back where it came from. Thorin blamed a natural curiosity for the fact that this was not what he really did.

One side of the paper was blank, the other side was not. It was some kind of painting, Thorin supposed, although it had to be the most detailed, lifelike one he had ever laid eyes on, more lifelike even than the many paintings that graced the elven city.

Kate was on it, her arms wrapped around a young man around her age on one side and an elderly woman on the other. In the painting she was laughing carelessly, something Thorin had never seen her do for as long as he'd known her. As far as he knew grumpy and irritable was her default setting. But she was happy there, happy and at ease in a world where she did belong.

His eyes wandered to the man next to her. He too was laughing, resting a hand on Miss Andrews's shoulder as if it belonged there. On this painting it was hard to know for sure, but Thorin deemed him taller than the company advisor. He had brown hair, even curlier and messier than Kate had. It were his eyes that really caught the attention. They were of the same shape and colour as Kate's. Thorin thought it a reasonable assumption that he must be the brother she had mentioned.

And that would make the woman on Kate's other side their mother, because her eyes were identical to those of her children. She had straight brown hair that was starting to show streaks of grey. She too was laughing at the painter.

It was a happy family, Thorin decided, trying and failing not to feel at least a little bit jealous of that. It was a familiar feeling by now, one that he did not show to others. He could simply not afford to show his feelings. But it still hurt to see families complete, happy with one another, when his own had so cruelly been torn apart by the dragon and by war.

He studied the small picture again and corrected himself. This family was happy, but it was not complete. The father was missing. He recalled Kate mentioning her father only once, just before Fíli had barged in with the news of the trolls. But he had only heard the last few sentences, not the entire story. He now wished that he had.

He was still staring at the painting when Balin came to stand next to him. 'Interesting things there, laddie?'

Thorin could hardly suppress a smile at the word. He might be the heir to a noble house, yet that would never have any effect on his oldest friend. To Balin at least he would always remain a lad. And in more ways than one it was a relief to be just that, to not just be a leader and king to everyone in this company. He would not have it any other way.

'A painting.' He shoved the object into Balin's hands for him to study. 'It seems very… real.'

His friend nodded. 'Aye, it is.' He motioned at the picture. 'Never seen that lass smile like that since we've known her.' Thorin chose not to comment on that, having reached that conclusion approximately five minutes earlier. 'That must be her brother. And her mother.'

He frowned, deciding to just ask what he wanted. 'Where's her father in all this?'

If the elderly dwarf thought something about this question he was wise enough to keep his opinion to himself. 'Long gone, she said.'

'He died?' At least he could relate to that. He was quite sure Thráin had been killed by now. Years and years had passed since the battle of Azanulbizar where he had gone missing. No word had reached him of his whereabouts or wellbeing ever since. It would only be realistic to assume that he was gone.

'He might as well be,' Balin shrugged. 'Kate told us he'd been kicked out by her mother after he cheated on her. She said she doesn't even know where he lives these days.'

The situations of course were vastly different and yet it was another thing they seemed to have in common, the dwarf pondered. There seemed to be a great number of those things these days: their dislike of Gandalf's scheming, their dislike of elves and now the missing father, who could still be alive, but neither knew for sure, Thorin because he had no way of knowing and Kate because she didn't care to.

He only realised he had missed out on Balin's question when the other dwarf shot him a quizzical and amused glance. But he'd die before he'd admit that he had not been listening, so he gave his demanding look by way of a reply.

And Balin, knowing him like no other, complied with an indulgent smile. 'You do know what impression you gave to the elves by acting like you did with Miss Andrews, don't you laddie?'

Thorin raised an eyebrow. For once he had absolutely no idea what Balin was talking about. 'I treated her as I should have,' he replied. And he had. She was a woman, no matter how much he disliked the very idea of having a female in his company, and she had been injured. He had been brought up to care for those two specific groups and he took it that the elves too held on to such standards.

'That is not what our hosts seem to think,' Balin said. He didn't meet his king's eyes, but Thorin could swear that he was amused. 'I overheard some of them talking a while ago and they were quite convinced you were married.'

Taking a sip of water had not been the best decision in hindsight. He all but choked on the liquid now. He, married to Miss Andrews? What in Durin's name had given them that idea? It was absurd to say the least. 'I take it you corrected them in that bold assumption,' he told his companion. He kept his voice calm and steady, even when he was trying to think up one reason why the elves, meddling beings that they were, had been able to come to such a conclusion.

It was unheard of. Strangely enough that was the first thought to enter his mind. He didn't even like the advisor. He respected her, which was another thing entirely. But there was no attraction between them, none at all. She was too human for his tastes, just as he was sure he was too dwarvish for hers. There was no physical attraction between them. Their races were too different. They didn't hold charm to the other race.

And their characters were too different as well. Both of them had a temper, he would admit that much, but that was about it. And then there was a huge age gap between them as well. Thorin would never call himself old, but he did call her young, barely considered an adult.

He shook his head at the foolishness of the elves. His esteem of them had never been high, but now they had surely gone up in the top ten of stupid creatures, as Kate would like to phrase it. He had helped the advisor on the road down into the valley and he had told the elves to take good care of her before he had let her go to their healers, but he would have done the same for any other member of this company, because that was what it meant to be a leader: you looked after those you were responsible for.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Balin's answer. 'I did do no such thing.'

Thorin's head swivelled in his friend's direction. 'Why?' he demanded. He knew that look and he knew that he did not like it either.

'There are certain advantages to the elves believing this theory.'

Now Thorin's jaw dropped. He could not even believe that he was even discussing this with Balin. 'Explain yourself,' he ordered. Slipping back behind the mask of the stern leader was his way to deal with things he did not know how else to react to. Balin of course knew that, but he still grimaced at the harsh tone.

'She is a woman travelling with a group of males,' Balin pointed out. 'The elves do have a sense of propriety. They would not ask questions if they are convinced that she is married.'

Bloody elves. 'It is none of their business what goes on within this company,' he growled. Not to mention that the elves thought so lowly of them. Thorin was convinced that not a single one of his men harboured such thoughts towards the advisor, not even the younger ones. She was a daughter of Men, after all. They didn't think of her like that. It was not in their nature. 'And if they protest, Gandalf will set them right,' he added.

It had been a mistake to come here at all. He knew trouble would come from this, albeit it was not in the way he had imagined. Lord Elrond had not asked for the purpose of their journey yet, but it would seem that he was already fretting over the propriety within the group.

'Gandalf is only one,' Balin reminded the dwarf king. 'And we are in the very heart of the elven kingdom, not in a position to argue should they decide to interfere.'

There was logic in this reasoning, as much as Thorin despised it. Never in all his days would he have believed that the real trouble they would encounter in this unnatural feeling valley would be of such a nature. He had anticipated them trying to stop the quest, not them interfering in personal affairs that did not even exist to begin with.

'It matters not anyway,' someone behind them remarked with humour. 'You already bicker like an old married couple.'

The voice had been hushed, so Thorin could not be sure, but he was very much convinced one of his nephews was to thank for this disrespectful remark. Apart from the fact that no one else would have dared to say such a thing when he was still within earshot, only Fíli and Kíli could ever come up with such a comment.

He was about to give the speaker a tongue-lashing, but someone beat him to it. 'As much as I'd like to ask who you're talking about, I'm not really sure I want to know,' an amused voice spoke up.

Thorin turned around to see the advisor standing at the entrance to the courtyard they were in. She grinned at Fíli, who had turned a shade of bright red in embarrassment. 'About that…' he began.

Kate shook her head. 'If it's that bad, I really do not want to know, Fíli.'

She looked better than she had, Thorin observed. The elves had let her bathe. Her still damp hair fell around her shoulders in red curls. The brownish shade to it must have been the result of the dirt on the road. Her facial colour was back to normal and although she still leaned on the stick he had given her, she seemed to have less difficulty walking. Some elves had taken her other, slightly larger bag, from which she had taken her clothes. They must originate from her own world, because he had never seen any woman wear that kind of clothing in all his life and Thorin had travelled far and wide during the years of exile. In a way these clothes seemed to fit her better than the ones she had purchased in Bree. They clung to her like a second skin, highlighting her fragile frame. For a human she did look almost pretty now. Almost.

'I can see why the elves reached that conclusion,' someone muttered. 'Just look at his face.'

Kate too caught that comment. 'Guys, as intriguing I am sure this is, do I really need to know about it?'

Thorin shot them a warning look. The elves could, as Kate would say, go to hell with their farfetched theories and their meddling in affairs that did not concern them. 'You don't.' It was an answer to her question and an order to the rest of the company at the same time.

Kate didn't miss that. She shot him a questioning look, but obviously changed her mind when she saw him still holding the painting that had been in her bag. 'Are you planning on making it a habit to go through my things whenever I leave my things with you for even an hour, Mr Oakenshield?' she demanded, shooting him a glare while she was at it.

'It fell out of your bag,' Thorin replied icily, all the while wondering why he was even answering. He was the leader, for Durin's sake. That should earn him at least the privilege to avoid answering questions if he so chose.

She hopped over, still leaning on the stick heavily. 'Well, if you're quite finished going through my family pictures, I'd like it back, please.' Just as his requests were often more demands than requests, so were hers. 'And maybe you should stay clear of them in future.'

Well, in one thing he had been right, Thorin supposed. Subdued Kate had been washed away with the dirt of the road. Things were back to how they had always been and in a way this was strangely comforting. It made the very notion of the two of them as a couple even more insane than it had been only a few minutes ago.

**Kate**

Dinner with the elves was a rather strange affair, Kate decided. Oh, the food looked good enough and the music sounded very elvish and rather beautiful. And Kate would be lying if she said it wasn't a relief to be able to sit on a proper chair again, eating food that they did not need to prepare themselves over a smoking campfire.

Lord Elrond and Gandalf had not yet arrived, no doubt discussing matters of great importance. Kate hoped to God the wizard was not revealing the nature of the quest. She wasn't sure Thorin's already tried nerves could handle it. The dwarf seemed on edge, jumpy even. She knew he didn't like being here at all, but it would seem she had underestimated the strength of those feelings. The elvish betrayal must have hurt him deeper than she had believed possible. It made him look, for lack of a better word, human and not like the untouchable confident leader of an impossible mission. He was ill at ease here, more so than when the wargs had chased them across the plains.

Thorin, she decided, liked to be in control of a situation. When the wargs attacked he had known what he was doing to a certain extent and it was within his power to change the situation even. Here he didn't have that luxury.

'That looks good,' Bilbo remarked, staring at the food.

'Please, be seated,' one of the elves present invited. 'Lord Elrond and Mithrandir will be joining you shortly, but he has given you leave to start eating in his absence.'

'Given leave?' came the low growl from Dwalin behind her. The warrior had no love of elves, Kate knew, but even she had to admit that she wasn't particularly fond of them so far.

She had long been wondering what she should be thinking about elves. She knew Thorin greatly disliked them, although that seemed to be something of an understatement if his face was anything to go by, but that Gandalf held them in high regard. And the knowledge she had brought with her from her world wasn't helpful in this particular case either. Tolkien had described them as fair and wise, but with a love of nonsense and silly songs as well, whereas the movie had left her with an impression of creatures of an almost unearthly nature that were a bit self-serving to say the least.

Upon examination she learned that those two visions weren't necessarily contradictory. The elves were all those things and to Kate they were all the more unpredictable for it. The healers that had helped her were indeed so beautiful she would almost become jealous of it and they spoke with the wisdom of millennia. But the next moment they would suddenly burst into song that didn't even have to have a defined subject. It was enough to make Kate feel not completely at ease with them around. But they were good beyond the shadow of a doubt, just different, she supposed.

Nevertheless she would probably be glad when they left this place again. The elves radiated something, an air of being somewhere high up in the pick order of the world. It may not even be intentional and of course it was simply true, which made it all the more annoying actually. Their behaviour, that seemed so contradictory at times, was just another thing that bothered her, but perhaps, when one lived as long as they did, one would simply have the time to be both wise and foolish, sometimes even at the same time.

At any rate the elves succeeded in giving her a newfound appreciation for her own companions. They were blunt and downright rude at times, but they were also far more down-to-earth than their hosts, which made her capable of relating to them more easily. And, even though she'd die before she admitted it, it had been a relief to be back with them after the hour with the healers. Their laughter and brusque manners felt familiar by now.

'Well, it is his house after all,' she muttered back at the dwarf. And when she saw his disapproving stare, she added: 'But you're right, he _does_ sound rather arrogant.'

Dwalin snorted, but the gaze softened somewhat. 'That's elves for you, lass.'

Kate chuckled. 'I believe Thorin already said as much.'

The elf with his sharper hearing could probably hear every word they spoke, but fortunately he did not feel the need to comment on it. He did however give them a pointed look which told them all they needed to know. Dwalin and Kate both saw it and both of them ignored it.

_Finding common ground in dislike of elvish manners_, Kate thought wryly, trying and failing to prevent the corners of her mouth from curling up. _Who'd have thought?_

But they were all hungry enough not to refuse a meal when it was offered to them, no matter how arrogant the offer. Kate saw the small table that was set for the important people and the bigger one for the rest. Quite frankly it seemed absurd to her that they should eat separately, but in this case it was probably best to go with it. She wasn't home anymore after all. Different worlds, different customs. She would just have to learn to live with the differences until Gandalf saw fit to return her home.

She made to follow Dwalin and Balin, using the stick to put as little weight on her injured ankle as she could. The elves had stabilised it with a lot of bandages, but she still needed the stick if she didn't want to hop around the place like a limp rabbit until the time it was fully healed.

Her plans were thwarted by a hand that grabbed her free wrist, yanking her back so forcefully she almost lost her balance. 'Where are you going?' a low voice demanded.

Kate didn't even turn around at the speaker. 'Why do you insist on asking these ridiculous questions?' she hissed. 'I don't know about you, but I am actually starving right here, so I'd kind of like to get some food in my stomach if that's okay with you.' She had no idea what he was playing at here, but it was getting at her nerves a lot. She must have missed the moment when he had become so protective of her – or maybe it was just that whole she's-a-woman-and-she's-injured business coming into play – but it wasn't as if she was about to be abducted by their hosts the moment he let her out of his sight. And since the crisis was over she assumed the same would be true for their temporary truce. 'Now get off me!'

Thorin, as per usual, ignored her. 'You're to sit with me,' he told, or rather _ordered_ her.

'No, I'm not!' she protested. She might not have the movie within reach, but she was convinced only three people were to sit at the "special" table and she was about to tell him so when her eye fell on it. No, she was neither blind nor forgetful, but it had been set for four people. Kate didn't have a clue as to whose bright idea that had been, but she was not pleased. She would have to dine with a moody dwarf king, a scheming wizard and a far too observant elf lord? Had being chased by wargs and fussed over by dwarves not been enough of a torture already? 'Can't you take Balin or something?'

The look in Thorin's eyes was probably best described as murderous. 'No, you headstrong woman,' he hissed at her. 'It is meant for you.'

She eyed him wearily. 'If this is about the whole she's-a-fragile-injured-woman-so-she-can't-sit-with-the-normal-guys business, you've got another thing coming!' she threatened, although she had no way to make good on that threat. But then, it was the idea that counted, right?

One corner of his mouth curled up, as if she had said something incredibly funny. 'No, I promise it is not about that.' The other corner joined in the smile.

Kate arched an eyebrow. 'Am I missing the joke here?'

He ignored her, as he was prone to do whenever he didn't want to answer, and Kate decided to leave it for now. Moody and irritable as the man was, he had saved her life today, so she guessed she owed him. And if she was to sit through a whole meal with him, she could better start working at appeasing him. Things would be bad enough without them having a glaring contest over the salad, which seemed the supper's main ingredient.

Besides, she didn't really hate him, not anymore. True, he could be as infuriating and blunt as he had ever been, but then, so could she be. And they had worked together several times now and to her surprise it hadn't actually killed her. And he did have some good qualities. He did genuinely care for the members of his company and he could make the difficult decisions whenever necessary. He would make for a good king if he actually put his mind to it, she supposed.

'Have it your way,' she muttered under her breath as she slid into her seat, putting the stick down next to it. 'Wow, a real chair. I think I had almost forgotten what those felt like,' she added in a lighter voice. If she was going to make an effort to be nicer to him, she might as well start right away.

Thorin surely had not seen that coming. He gave her a confused look.

Kate shrugged. 'I'd rather you sink your teeth into your salad than that you use them to bite my head off over dinner.'

His eyes were still cold, but his mouth curled up again. Kate considered it progress. 'I can't seem to decide which looks less edible,' he remarked dryly.

This was the banter as Kate remembered it, albeit without the venomous undertones and accompanying glares. _I might get used to this_. 'The orcs might dispute that,' she countered. 'I'm quite sure of their answer to that question.' She poked around in her food. From somewhere behind her she could hear Ori complain about the amount of vegetables on the menu and she couldn't even really blame him for that. This _was_ a lot of salad. She huffed. 'If I'd wanted to become a vegetarian I would have told them so,' she grumbled. 'Someone who doesn't eat meat,' she clarified when she caught Thorin's puzzled gaze. Ten to one that those were a rare breed among dwarves, if they existed at all.

'If only the orcs could convert to the elvish eating habits all our problems would be solved,' the dwarf replied. He was still acting like he was sitting on a hedgehog instead of on a comfortable chair, but he seemed more relaxed than he had been a few minutes ago. This whole exchange of witticisms seemed to do them both a world of good.

Kate chuckled. 'If only.' She frowned as the subject almost automatically led her to a thought that had occurred to her as she had been bathing. 'I do wonder where they came from though.'

The light mood disappeared with that question. This was after all a serious subject, something that was not to be joked about, especially not when in the presence of one Thorin Oakenshield, who hated Orcs with a passion.

'Those lands are crawling with Orcs,' the dwarf replied gruffly, attacking his salad as if it was somehow its fault that they had been ambushed.

Kate shook her head. 'That was not what I meant,' she said. 'It was something Gandalf said shortly before we left. _You are being hunted_ were the exact words, I believe.'

That caused him to look up. 'You know something.' It wasn't a question. It was a conclusion. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Kate bit her lip, not completely certain it would be wise to share this piece of information. Or rather, not certain whether to share this piece of information right here and now. Thorin might just choke on his meal. 'I think so. I am not entirely sure. The two versions of the story do disagree on this subject.'

But Thorin was no fool. 'You may not be sure entirely, but you are almost sure.'

She tried to deflect the unspoken demand. 'I was under the impression you did not care for my knowledge.'

He ignored that. 'Tell me.'

Kate glanced over her shoulder, but neither Gandalf nor Elrond was anywhere in sight and most elves kept as much distance between the company and themselves, as uncomfortable in the dwarves' presence as the dwarves were in theirs. So she leaned over and lowered her voice. 'One version of the story, the only one in which we were chased here by wargs actually, claims that these orcs were under the command of one Azog the Defiler.'

The shutters came down. 'Azog is dead.' His voice was hushed too, but no less furious for it.

Kate glared at him. 'Well, someone sure as hell is setting these orcs on us and please forgive me if I say so, but I heard Dwalin say that the place we had made camp was safe and then I heard Elrond tell Gandalf that orcs don't usually venture this close to Rivendell. So, orcs don't come in this area normally and you'll have to admit that this group seemed alarmingly organised and bloody hell-bent on catching us. And didn't Kíli say that they preferred to kill defenceless people in the dead of night? We are by no means easy victims, are we? Then why would they pick such a well-armed group?'

Her reasoning was good and she knew it. And by the looks of it, so did Thorin, even if he did not want to accept it. 'Azog was killed at Azanulbizar.'

Kate wasn't actually convinced of that. Where it came to Thorin's archenemy the movie did not seem to be far off the mark so far. 'You hacked off his arm at Azanulbizar,' she corrected him. 'You didn't _see_ him die, did you?'

She thought she saw him pale for a moment, but it was over before she could be certain. 'I did not,' he replied stiffly. 'That does not mean he did not die, Miss Andrews. Such wounds are almost always fatal.'

_With almost being the operative word in this case_. But she decided to let go of this one. Thorin was the kind of person that needed to see things before he believed them. 'Forget Azog,' she said. 'But you'll have to agree that someone sent that orc pack after us. It would be far too much coincidence.'

Thorin seemed uneasy for a moment, but then nodded. 'I agree.'

_Alert the press_. That must be a first. 'Well, that's the point, isn't it?' she asked. 'How did they know where we were? This quest is secret, right? Then how on earth would the orcs know to look for us on the road?'

The question had been bugging her ever since she had gone to watch the movie. Unless Azog had developed supernatural powers in the past decade she didn't think he could have predicted that Thorin would go on a quest to the Lonely Mountain. Someone must have alerted him to it. That would be the only explanation for this situation that made sense to her. Unfortunately it was also the most frightening possibility.

Thorin's stare would have killed her if looks would possess such power. 'Are you saying that someone betrayed this quest to the orcs?' he demanded in a fierce whisper.

She grimaced. 'Believe me, I'm not exactly doing a happy dance around the table either, even if I were capable of doing so with this bloody ankle.' She speared something that looked like an olive on her fork. 'But it would make sense,' she insisted. 'I don't think they just happened to come across our trail.'

As much as Thorin obviously didn't want to agree with her, he had to. At any other moment in time she would have felt triumphant for that, but now she would have liked nothing better than to be wrong.

'Do you know who did tell the orcs?' It was all too obvious that he didn't like to rely on her knowledge, but, as in earlier crises, he forced himself to at least hear her out.

Kate shook her head, eating the olive, only to come to the conclusion that it was definitely not an olive, but something she seriously disliked the taste of. She forced herself to swallow it quickly, since spitting it back out would probably be frowned upon here. 'I don't have a bloody idea. It's kind of a plot hole in the movie. Something that is never explained,' she added when she realised he had no idea what she was going on about, again. 'But nevertheless it is the only thing that would explain what happened. Someone must have run to the orcs to tell them about the quest.'

Thorin sent her his most disapproving stare. 'I trust each and every member of this company unconditionally,' he told her, almost daring her to contradict him.

_I wonder if that statement applies to me as well?_ 'I wasn't talking about the company!' she protested, a little too loud perhaps. To be honest, the idea hadn't even crossed her mind. She took a deep breath to avoid things from boiling over. This was hardly the time or the place to get into a shouting match with him, not with so many elves around. 'It is not the company that worries me,' she reassured him. 'But you did tell your kin, didn't you?'

Now it was Thorin's turn to be mad at her. 'Are you now trying to get me to believe that one of my own kin betrayed me to that orc scum?' The tone was both angry and disbelieving.

_Yes, that's exactly what I am thinking_. It would however do her health no favours to tell him that. 'I am not trying to make you believe anything, you big oaf!' she hissed back at him. This might not become a shouting match, but a hissing match wasn't out of the question apparently. 'I am trying to be helpful here! And while we cannot imagine someone talking to the enemy, I think you'll have to agree that _someone_ must have been spilling the beans.'

Thorin still wasn't one hundred percent convinced, she could tell. Good grief, she would want nothing more than not to be convinced either. The possibility wasn't exactly welcome to her.

'The quest was a complete secret,' Thorin told her sternly, but the tone was doubtful and she could hear it.

'You said there were envoys of all seven kingdoms at that meeting in the Ered Luin,' Kate countered. 'I hardly call that a secret.'

He glared at her. 'They are my kin,' he said as if that was an explanation in and out of itself. 'They can keep a secret.'

Kate grimaced. '_"Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead," said he to his companions, and knocked them on the head_,' she quoted. 'Is there no one you think could have been an Orc spy?'

The answer to that question was clear as daylight in his eyes, even if he did try to hide it from her by warily studying the food in front of him. He did know such a person and he was not about to share that with her. But Kate could not care less really. Thorin, she had come to see, needed time to think things over sometimes. And she herself definitely needed some time to process this. Because if someone had given away their journey and destination away to Azog, then how much did he already know and how would that affect their quest?

* * *

From Kate's notes: _Why couldn't that bloody wizard just wait until all three movies had been released before he spirited me away to help on a sodding quest that seems to follow the movie for an alarming amount of the time, and does whatever it wants for the rest of it? I'm going completely blind here._

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**That's it for today. Next update should be next Sunday again. In the meantime I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.**

**And to the guest who signs as Reika88, Kate is her own person and based on no one. And yes, she is far from perfect. If she was perfect, she'd be a Mary Sue and that's what I am trying to avoid here.**

**The piece of "poetry" Kate quotes is **_**No honour among thieves**_**, John O'Mill, Rollicky Rhymes in Dutch and double Dutch, page 53. I'm afraid most of his work is only funny when you speak both English and Dutch, but never mind. **

**Hope to see you all next week!**


	14. Chapter 14 Acts

**Hello dear readers. Yes, this is once again an extra chapter. I had some time left, so there we are. I'm not sure how pleased I am with it, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless.**

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**Chapter 14**

**Acts**

_The rest of dinner was an even stranger affair after Elrond and Gandalf joined our company. Thorin was still mulling over my words, which had shocked me as much as him, to be quite honest. Up till then I had never given it very much thought at all, but the longer I pondered it, the more likely it became that someone indeed had been a little too friendly with the orcs, although the reason why anyone would want to associate with those disgusting creatures kept eluding me._

_But this was not the reason why dinner was so strange to me. That had more to do with my companions' behaviour than anything else. It started off with Lord Elrond giving me these looks that told me that something about me was wrong or at least very unusual. I wasn't sure whether to comment on it or ask about it. For all I knew that would be considered rude. I was after all far from an expert on elvish etiquette. _

_No, it was only when both Gandalf and Thorin started to act out of character that my alarm bells really went off. They had seemed to agree on something – using a few meaningful glances and nods of the head, even though Thorin appeared to be only reluctantly agreeing – right before we had started eating. It was all very annoying, since I seemed to be the only one not knowing what on earth was going on. It made me feel incredibly stupid and unobservant._

_Knowing what I know now it only seems too obvious. I should probably have caught on long before I eventually did, but back then it took me all the self-control I possessed not to let my jaw drop in shock when Gandalf cheerfully informed Elrond that Thorin and I made for such an excellent team. In my experience we were anything but. Knowing Thorin and his dislike of me as I did I expected him to be the first to contradict this ridiculous statement right away, so I could hardly believe my own ears when he actually agreed._

_Now I was certain that they were up to something, but just as I was about to finally ask what was going on – and to hell with elvish etiquette – the grey wizard cleverly steered the subject away from the whole fabulous non-existent team…_

**Kate**

'We had a few questions to ask of you,' Gandalf told the elf lord just as things started to become so incredibly awkward that Kate was about to forget everything she had ever learned about politeness and just demand what everyone was talking about that she so obviously wasn't aware of.

Gandalf's question however stopped her dead in her tracks. Was that old man totally insane? She knew that sometime during this dinner he was going to bring up the riddle of the map, as she had secretly dubbed it. But that was not going to happen now, because they had agreed – or rather: Thorin had decided – that they were going to do this her way, which meant that they were going to lie to Elrond about the reason they were even in Rivendell. Lord Elrond would not even be informed of the existence of the map.

Next to her she could see Thorin had tensed as well. He was holding his fork so tightly that Kate half expected the thing to break in half with the sheer force of it. He wasn't speaking – yet – but his face was speaking volumes.

'What kind of questions, my friend?' Elrond asked. If he was aware of the murderous glares Thorin was unleashing on both the wizard and the elf he didn't show it. Kate knew from experience that those looks were particularly difficult to ignore. It was the kind of look that seemed to burn holes in your skin even if your back was actually turned on him. It was the look Kate had often been favoured with.

'Just something about the identity of some weapons we recently found,' Gandalf smiled innocently.

Thorin relaxed, but only slightly. Kate herself could have banged her head against a wall for not remembering that one before. Of course they would get to that before the map was even discussed. She still wouldn't put it past Gandalf to bring the subject up, but at least for now they were in calm waters again.

Kate frowned as Thorin, although still not entirely happy with the situation, handed his blade over for careful examination. She knew what was coming, so she allowed her thoughts to wander. Oh, she was determined for the wizard to keep the nature of the quest a secret, all right. What puzzled her was the reason behind it. To be quite honest, she wasn't even sure there was a reason at all. True, she did not want to sneak away under cover of darkness because a certain White Council was planning on stopping them from going, but that wasn't all there was to this.

The frown deepened as she listened with half an ear to Elrond telling them the names of the weapons, trying to think of an answer that made even the slightest bit of sense. Because no matter what happened here, in the end it did not really concern her. She would go home after all this business was finished. Gandalf had promised her that and Kate was determined to keep him to that promise. So why would she get so worked up about something like this? Did she relish the verbal sparring? Yes, she did, she supposed. If she didn't she would have kept her mouth firmly shut, no matter what her personal opinion on the subject was. But that couldn't be all there was to this, right?

'Catherine.' Her full name startled her, snapping her out of her analysis. To her surprise it was Thorin who had spoken. _Whatever happened to the use of my surname?_

'Yes?' she asked. She wiped the frown off her face.

'Are you all right, my dear?' Gandalf asked.

She flashed him a quick and fake smile. 'Just thinking,' she replied. 'Anything the matter?'

'Your sword, show it to Lord Elrond,' the wizard told her.

_And whatever happened to asking nicely?_ But this was not really the time to start another fight. _Choose your battles, dear, and choose them wisely_, her mother had once advised her. Some piece of common sense told her that fighting a battle with a meddlesome wizard over dinner with several elves present might just reflect badly on her. So she picked up the sword and handed it over.

'Interesting,' Elrond said, unsheathing the blade and examining it closely. He remained silent for a while, looking at it from all possible angles.

The silence started vexing Kate. 'And what is so interesting, if I may be so bold to ask?' she demanded. 'The way the light falls on it perhaps?'

She had spoken in a rather loud voice she realised as she could hear some of her companions behind her try and fail to stifle their laughter. Gandalf favoured her with the stern grandfather look, but Thorin quickly averted his head in order not to show his amusement. Whatever kind of new truce had come from the mutual agreement of not shouting over dinner, it apparently meant that he was allowed to laugh at her sarcasm, as long as it was not directed at him.

'It is a companion to Orcrist,' Elrond replied, wonder in his voice.

Kate frowned. 'Companion?'

'Made by the same smith at the same time,' the elf lord clarified.

She weighed the chances of coming across as exceptionally dim if she asked what on earth that was supposed to mean, but since she was a woman, she didn't think it would be that bad. Women weren't supposed to know about swords in this world, were they? 'And this is important, because…?'

The elf shook his head. 'It seems… fitting,' he said, although that wasn't anywhere near an answer in Kate's opinion. She took the sword from him again, preparing to demand more of an explanation, but Elrond's attention had already been directed at Gandalf again. 'How did you come by these?'

'We found them in a Troll hoard on the Great East Road,' the wizard informed him.

'And what were you doing on the Great East Road?' Elrond's eyes darted towards Thorin. There was some suspicion in them and Kate didn't think Thorin would miss out on that, especially not since he probably expected the elf to behave like this.

She was not disappointed. 'I was not aware our business is any of your concern,' he growled in as condescending a tone as he could get away with without being called rude.

'Save me from the stubbornness of dwarves,' Gandalf muttered. 'Your pride will be your downfall.'

Kate privately agreed. Thorin was acting rather stupidly, but then Elrond was behaving as if he owned the road, which he didn't as far as Kate was aware. 'No, he's right,' she interjected, whilst at the same time wondering why she even stood up for him. 'Our business is our own and while we are eternally grateful for your aid and hospitality, we are not in the habit of sharing our activities with someone we barely know.' Not that this was entirely true, because in a way she did know him. She was however not about to go and tell that to their host. It was the elvish arrogance that vexed her, she decided. They seemed to act as if they had a right to know what everyone was doing and why.

'I meant no offence, my lady.' Elrond inclined his head, if only slightly. 'It is curious though for dwarves to venture this close to our borders.'

'We would not have come here at all if it weren't for those orcs,' Kate countered, which just so happened to be true, or that was what she thought at least. Thorin would never have gone anywhere near elves if he could have helped it and she started to see why that was the case, more and more by the second. Maybe she should add nosy to the list of elvish characteristics. 'And you can be assured we won't burden you too long with our presence here.'

You'd say the elf understood a dismissal when he heard one, but either he didn't or he chose to ignore it. 'My people might be of assistance to you.' _If you would just tell me what you were up to._ His manners were nice enough, Kate would never argue that point, but she had some experience in coaxing information out of people herself, enough to recognise when someone else was doing it, and Elrond was hardly subtle about it.

Thorin's face seemed to have frozen into that angry scowl permanently. 'We will be on our way as soon as Catherine's ankle is fully healed,' he told the elf. It sounded rather strange to her to hear him actually say her name, and her full name at that. She had become used to Miss Andrews and headstrong woman or some variations to that theme. Well, wonders never ceased it would seem. 'We do not need further assistance.'

Gandalf rolled his eyes at both Thorin and Kate, making her realise that for once they were actually on the same side. Again. It looked like it was becoming some sort of habit for them to present a united front against outside forces, which for now would include the company's wizard.

It was a tricky thing, that truce between them, she pondered after dinner, staring out over the serene beauty of Rivendell by starlight from a terrace near their camping place, leaning on the balustrade. It was undefined, not even really discussed. One moment it was there and the next would find them shouting at one another as if they were born to do so. But the crises brought them together, at least as allies. Maybe it was some sort of present-a-united-front-to-the-enemy thing. Kate wasn't really sure. She made a mental note to ask someone like Balin about that soon.

'Catherine.' Thorin's voice startled her.

'Whatever happened to Miss Andrews?' she asked without looking away from the scenery.

She could hear his boots on the stone floor, coming to a halt next to her. 'You never mentioned this name to any of us,' the dwarf pointed out. There was some wariness in his voice.

Kate snorted. 'Because I don't like hearing it,' she countered. 'It's too long. I don't know what my mother was thinking, burdening me with a name like that.'

She could almost hear him frown. 'You dislike the name you were given?'

Oh, crap. Would that be considered inappropriate in dwarven society? She sincerely hoped not. 'Not really. It's just too long for everyday use. I like it shortened a bit.' She risked a glance to him and saw the disapproval still firmly etched in his features. 'Even my mother only calls me Catherine when she's angry with me, you know.' He was still not convinced and she laughed at how stubborn he was about it. 'Catherine is only for formal introductions and people I don't particularly like. Kate is for friends.'

One eyebrow was arched. 'You regard me as a friend?' The tone was definitely disbelieving now.

She thought about that for a moment. 'Not quite,' she told him in the end. And that was the truth, because she did not like him. He was not the kind of person she would end up befriending. If things were actually normal she might even have stayed away from him on purpose. But things were not normal and they had to make the best of a situation neither of them wanted to be in. 'But I don't really hate you either. Not that it is really relevant, since you insist on calling me by my surname only.' She thought for another moment. 'I think that we are at least allies most of the time.' She looked at him to see if he agreed to that, not entirely sure what she wanted or expected. Him accepting an alliance would mean an end to the fighting, but part of her would miss that fiery verbal sparring.

The reply was a nod. No words followed, but Kate told herself she should not have expected that either. Heaven only knew how much it had cost him to even acknowledge this arrangement, especially since she was pretty sure he still was very much opposed to her even being with his company.

'Allies it is then,' she decided, unsure if she should even say anything.

It turned out that she shouldn't. 'You still should have told us,' Thorin growled.

It took a moment to sink in, but then she understood. 'This is about me not telling you my full name?' she asked disbelievingly.

He gave her a curt nod in reply. 'I might have been able to anticipate what you were doing in the courtyard if I had known. These small details are important to know for when we find ourselves in such a situation again.'

He might have a point with that and Kate might even have said so had his words not reminded her of something. 'Yeah, since we're talking about informing each other, could you enlighten me as to what the hell was going on at dinner? Because unless I am extremely forgetful, we certainly are nowhere near an excellent team and you would be about the last person I know who could ever agree to something this absurd.'

It was silent for so long that Kate almost thought he was going to ignore her again. Well, there was nothing new there, but she was getting tired of all this business that she was giving answers and he was giving away nothing at all that she wasn't really surprised anymore. It seemed part of his personality to be temporary deaf whenever someone asked something of him which he didn't want to give.

It didn't mean however that this was any less annoying. 'Maybe I should just go ask Gandalf,' she muttered angrily. She didn't think that was going to be helpful in this case, but Thorin's taciturn behaviour just made her curiosity ten times worse. She had actually no idea what was the matter, but it had to be something serious. And she had just about enough of it. 'Or even better, Elrond.' Her voice rose, but she doubted their companions could hear it. They were too busy producing noise in their camping courtyard.

She turned around to make good on her threat when a strong hand grasped her wrist in a death grip. 'You will do no such thing.' The voice was low, but all the more dangerous for it.

Kate wriggled and struggled, but it was of course no use at all. Thorin was far too strong for her. 'Will you let go off me, imbecile?' she hissed. 'Or do you perhaps plan on informing me what the hell is going on?' He neither moved nor spoke. 'Didn't we just agree on being allies?' she cried out, once again trying to break free. 'How on earth are we going to be that fabulous team that Elrond now thinks we are if you insist on not sharing the details of your plans with me?' It was perhaps slightly below the belt, this remark, since he had only accused her of doing precisely that hardly five minutes ago.

'It is not my plan, woman,' he snarled at her.

At least that stopped her dead in her tracks. 'What on earth are you talking about?' she demanded. 'And can you let go now?'

He released her without another word, folding his arms across his chest as he was prone to do whenever he faced something really unpleasant. For some reason Kate didn't think she was the object of his dislike this time. There was something about her question and his response to it that made her believe that somehow either Gandalf or Elrond was involved. Or both, she added wryly to herself.

'The elves,' Thorin began, speaking those words with all the loathing he could muster.

Kate tilted her head. 'The elves _what_?' It could not possibly be that bad, could it?

'The elves are convinced that we are married.'

It took Kate some moments to process this revelation. And when she had her first impulse was to laugh at the absurdity of it. '_We_? Married? Good grief, they've gone mental.'

The realisation that this perhaps was not as funny as she thought it to be followed several moments later when Thorin didn't join in the laughter. She'd have thought that he would at least think this amusing, another piece of evidence that elves clearly were not in their right minds. But he stood there, unmoving, arms still crossed over his chest, only arching one eyebrow at her.

She fell silent. 'Hang on, you're not joking?' That idea was so completely insane that it came out as a question. But Thorin's expressionless face was more than enough answer in and out of itself. 'You're serious?'

It had her staggering back a few paces. The bad thing was, now that she was over the idea that this was a joke, in some ways, when you didn't know them as their companions did, it would even make sense for them to be together. Thorin had helped her down into the valley, being the only person to walk slow enough for her to keep up with. And then there was that weird display of hurt-her-and-I'll-hurt-you-harder before the dwarf had allowed her to go with Lindir to see a healer.

And some of the elvish behaviour now made sense as well. No one, surprisingly, had asked her what she was doing in a company of male individuals. To Kate it had become almost normal by now, but she supposed that when one lived in Middle Earth it was highly unusual for a woman to be travelling with only men for companions. It would only be acceptable if one of those men was the woman's husband. And if the elves really believed her to be married to Thorin, then that would also explain why she had been invited to dine at the "special" table instead of at the other table with the rest of them and why Elrond had thought the fact that her sword apparently was the companion to Thorin's fitting.

What didn't make sense in all this was Thorin's own behaviour. Not only had he conveniently kept her in the dark about this non-existent relationship, he had made things worse by acting as if this was actually real. Gandalf's behaviour she could understand to a certain extent. He was a scheming bastard as far as Kate was concerned, with ulterior motives she didn't even want to begin to understand, but Thorin was another matter entirely. So far he had never even given the smallest hint that he actually liked her, never mind in such a way. For him to go with this idea was weird, out of character even, she supposed.

But the confusion swiftly gave way to anger, an emotion she knew how to deal with. 'And you did nothing to set them right?' she asked incredulously. 'You let them go on thinking that we are a couple even when we're not?' She was aware of the fact that her voice was rising, but she could not care less. Nothing about this sounded even logical to her. She didn't even like Thorin and she wanted to pretend to be married to him even less. 'Well, even if you are perfectly content to lead them around by the nose, fine. But I'll have you know that I am not about to be looked at as your _wife_!' She spoke the last word as if it was some kind of contagious disease, which wasn't far off the mark to her anyway. 'First chance I get, I'll tell them. I have no idea what the hell you're playing at, but I will not be part of it, thank you very much!'

At least that got a reaction out of him. All this while he had been standing there silently, waiting until she was done voicing her displeasure. Now the anger crept back onto his face and his hand gripped her wrist again as she turned to storm off to find the first elf she could find to correct this error here and now. 'You will do no such thing,' he commanded her.

She turned around, his grip on her arm yanking her back, bringing her face to face with him. 'Give me one good reason why not,' she demanded in a low hiss. The urge to hit him was growing, but if she was really honest the confusion was more dominant now than the rage. Why was he so opposed to rectifying this mistake here and now? Clearly not because he was so fond of her, that much was sure. But there had to be some reason why he was all right with letting the elves think they were a married couple. Somehow this didn't reassure her at all.

'Because the elves do not think it proper for a woman to be travelling with only men when she isn't related or married to one of them.' The answer was as predictable as it was annoying. Blasted elves and their stupid sense of propriety. In normal situations they might have been able to pass her off as a distant relatives, but since they were of different races that was out of the question. A fake marriage would be the only option left to them.

'Then tell them to bugger off and keep their noses out of our business!' she exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air in exasperation. 'It is none of their business, quite frankly, and _you_ should have told them so, even if Gandalf didn't!'

'Foolish woman,' he growled at her. Even if this was an improvement – he was not calling her a girl anymore – it still succeeded in getting on her nerves. 'Have you forgotten we are in the heart of their kingdom? They can do whatever they like here and we will not be able to stop them.'

Kate frowned, not understanding what he was getting at. 'And this would be a bad thing, because…?' She let her voice trail off, leaving it to him to fill in the rest, because she sure didn't understand why the elves were even so concerned about all this. So yes, they might voice their disapproval of the situation, but they weren't in any position to do anything else about it, were they?

'Because, woman, they would never allow an unmarried woman to continue to travel with a group of men that she is not related to,' Thorin barked at her.

And Kate could only stare as that realisation started to dawn on her.

**Thorin**

Thorin could hardly believe that he was even having this discussion. He already regretted even answering her question in the first place. He should have stuck with his earlier plan of leading the elves on without letting Kate know what was going on. That was a tricky path, but preferable to this awkward situation.

Miss Andrews stared at him, jaw dropped, as she finally seemed to understand the real situation here. 'You mean, they would not let me continue the journey with you guys unless they were convinced it was _proper_?' The last word came out as if she thought it the most disgusting thing she had ever come across. Thorin found he started to share that particular sentiment.

'I do believe so,' he replied with a curt nod of the head.

'That's disgusting!' Kate commented. The dwarf was unsure if she meant the elves' behaviour or the idea of them being married with that. He thought it wiser not to ask. He wasn't sure he even wanted to know. Personal disgust aside, this was a situation they needed to deal with and he thought Miss Andrews at least understood the need to play along for the sake of the quest.

She folded her arms across her chest in a way not unlike he was used to do. 'There's not much choice, is there?' She still sounded unhappy about the entire situation, but Thorin's assessment seemed to be accurate. Maybe she did care about the quest more than she let on. He had been wondering, maybe even hoping, if she would not choose to stay behind with the elves, maybe because she hoped that Gandalf would send her back home now that she would not be able to accompany them any further.

'Not if you wish to remain with this company,' he pointed out, trying to trigger her into being honest about her motives.

She snorted. 'You can stop looking at me like that,' she told him angrily. 'It's not like I am that anxious to go on your sodding quest. And I don't think you're that eager to hang on to me either. But I am even less eager to be left behind with this bunch of singing lunatics, believe me.'

'Gandalf would probably send you back home,' Thorin felt obliged to point out. And part of him would be very glad if that was the case. Miss Andrews and especially that book of hers that so often seemed to be right were getting on his nerves more every week. Thorin supposed that he might have liked her had they met under different circumstances. But that book, that so inconveniently predicted his death at the end of the journey, spoiled every possibility of friendship for him.

'Would he now?' Kate said wryly. 'You should know what he is like. Right now, I have a deal with him that he'll send me back home when this is all over, as long as I do what he brought me here to do. I have no guarantee whatsoever he'll still send me back if I don't keep up my end of the bargain.' She hit the nearest wall in frustration. 'No matter how much we want to be rid of one another, it looks like you're stuck with me for now.'

It made sense for her to behave like that, Thorin supposed. He would not give up his only chance to get home again either, which was why he had gone on this quest in the first place. It was disturbing that they once again seemed to have found some common ground, but for now it at least meant that their course of action was clear.

'We'll need to keep up the pretence,' he told her brusquely.

Kate nodded. 'I suppose.' She was carefully avoiding meeting his eyes, staring at the moon instead. 'Which means that you will have to change your habit of addressing me by my surname, at least for as long as we're staying here.'

Was she really telling him what to do and don't? But two could play that game. 'And you should probably stop hitting me,' he countered.

Miss Andrews only nodded. 'I am sorry about that,' she admitted. 'I should not have done that. You should not have been playing all that high and mighty again, but I should have had better control over myself.'

He waited. He knew the way she was talking, had overheard her doing so before.

'For a moment your expression and words, they reminded me of the way my father used to speak to me,' she confessed, proving him right in the assumption that she was going to explain eventually. 'I just lost it, I guess.' Her arms weren't simply folded across her chest anymore now; she was practically bracing herself.

Thorin considered putting his image at risk by asking about the relation with her father, but decided against it when he remembered that this was actually none of his business. It was not relevant to the success of the quest. 'Apology accepted,' he nodded.

Kate did not react. She was still staring at the moon. 'What's today's date?' she suddenly asked.

Thorin frowned, not sure what had brought this on. 'I beg your pardon?'

'The date,' Kate repeated, wrongfully assuming he had not heard her.

'Midsummer,' the dwarf replied. He decided to pull a leaf out of her book and asked: 'This is relevant, because…?'

'The map.' Miss Andrews actually turned to look at him. 'The moon runes, we should be able to read them now.'

The memory came to him now. She had indeed mentioned something like that when they had been examining the runes on the map in her book. But in all the general chaos he had almost lost sight of the date. If it weren't for her, he would have wasted every chance he had of checking the message on the real map.

He nodded. 'You are right,' he agreed.

One eyebrow went up again. 'Alert the press,' she muttered.

Now it was his turn to be confused. 'I have no idea of what you speak,' he informed her.

She shook her head. 'Never mind. I just meant to say that that hasn't happened before as far as I am aware, you admitting I was right about anything.'

_Don't get used to it._ He however refrained from saying so, pulling out the map and unfolding it.

Kate curiously looked at it. 'They really are identical, aren't they?' she whispered in awe.

He favoured her with a stern look.

The wonder disappeared from her face. 'Sorry. Do you want me to leave?'

She sounded almost vulnerable now and for some reason he didn't like to hear her like that. It was strangely unsettling to see this other side to her. He had grown used to the snappy woman who argued his every decision, who was one of the few that was as verbally strong as he was. In a way he even relied on her to be her irritable self. This behaviour was unlike her. 'Stay if you must,' he replied.

The spark returned to her eyes, along with the sarcastic smile. 'I am feeling so very welcome now.'

He ignored that, taking a deep breath and holding the map against the moonlight that should reveal the runes that were still hidden. He hardly dared to hope they were there. He wasn't even sure he should be hoping for their existence. Of course they would have their instructions for the opening of the back door, but the prospect of having to face that Miss Andrews's, correction Kate's – he had better start calling her by her given name since they were pretending to be married – book would be right about yet another thing, that was causing cold shivers down his spine.

For a moment nothing happened and some part of the dwarf was already ready to exhale in relief. The book had been wrong about this and if it was wrong about something this important, it might also be wrong about something as significant as his own death. He was not marching towards his own end with this quest.

But the relief was short-lived. It took another five seconds, but then the runes started to appear on the previously empty parchment. And even without reading them out loud Thorin knew what they said. _Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole._

Kate had spoken the truth.

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From Thorin's notes: _The woman really does speak truth. Can I still go on knowing what lies ahead?_

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**Oh dear, Thorin is having doubts!**

**Anyway, next chapter should be up Sunday. In the meantime I'd love to hear your opinion on this chapter. Did you love it, did you hate it?**


	15. Chapter 15 Doubts

**Hello dear readers. Here's chapter fifteen already. And I wanted to say a quick thank you to the guest reviewers, since I can't do so by PM. Although I would like to ask the guest who signs as Reika88: why are you are still reading this if you hate it, as you claim to do? No one is forcing you to read this, and if you have nothing useful or **_**constructive**_** criticism to offer, then kindly stay away in future.**

**Sorry about that, it just needed to be said. Anyway,I'm going to try to go to two updates a week with this story. Not sure for how long I can keep that up, but I'm going to give it a try. Enjoy the chapter!**

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**Chapter 15**

**Doubts**

_We stayed in Rivendell for about a week and when the time came to leave, I found I was actually looking forward to it. The elves had treated us kindly, if with the air of people who think themselves far above the other people they're dealing with. I found out that this behaviour did not have much to do with me, but more with the longstanding dislike between elves and dwarves in general, and since they considered me as good as a dwarf – because they still believed me married to one of them – they kept their distance._

_That non-existent marriage turned out not to be as bad as I had feared it to be. The elves left us mostly to our own devices, so the need to act was not that great. On the few occasions that Elrond did invite Thorin and me to dinner, we acted much the same as we had before: amiable, presenting a united front, but fortunately there wasn't any need for affectionate gestures, for which we both were eternally grateful. I'm not sure either of us could have pulled it off at the time._

_It were our own companions who were a right pain in the arse in all this. For some reason many of them thought the act hilarious and they were all too quick to comment on how to behave. Most of these comments were made when Thorin was out of earshot however, which was probably for the best, since some of these "advices" might have just given him a heart attack. I also learned that it – of course – had been Fíli who had made the you-bicker-like-an-old-married-couple comment that I had walked in on our first night in the elven kingdom._

_And that held true for most of our conversations ever since. Thorin and I may have agreed on an alliance that first night, but we still had to act on it. Ever since then the dwarf king had been grumpy, ill-tempered and taciturn. Half of the time he seemed under the impression that I was personally responsible for every wrong in his life and the other half he disappeared for hours at a time._

_All in all the atmosphere was less than fine, since the leader of our company always managed to stifle all laughter with a single glance. Many of us, me included, wondered what on earth was wrong with him, but if we were hoping to get an answer out of him, we were hoping in vain…_

**Thorin **

The sun had only just risen over Rivendell when Thorin looked out over the still sleeping valley for the last time. Behind him the company was breaking up the courtyard camp. They had been offered rooms, even if the elves clearly were uncomfortable doing so. He supposed it had been a relief for both parties when he had refused the offer, choosing to camp under the stars in a relatively private courtyard where they could all stay together, where he could keep an eye on his men. He did not even lie to himself about the real reason why he had chosen as he had. These dwarves were his responsibility now and he had almost failed at keeping them safe, twice now. And if Miss Andrews was right, his quest would lead them straight into battle and how many of them would die then?

He hit the wall in frustration. It all came down to that dreaded book in the end, didn't it? It would be no use pretending that her book was not right anymore, not after he had seen the silvery letters appear on his map, almost to mock him and his denial of Kate's knowledge. The map had been the test case and it had proven her blasted book right once again. It had been right about the trolls too. And it scared him, more than he was even willing to admit to himself.

He did not fear for himself, not really, not anymore. The prospect of dying was one he was all too familiar with. It came with the experience of years and years of fighting. He had been scared when he first found out about his death through that book, and while he still not liked the prospect, he had had some time to think in the past week. He had realised that he had long since accepted the possibility that he could perish during this quest. No one planned to take on a dragon and expected to come out of it entirely unscathed. It was the certainty of this death that the book foretold that had thrown him off balance.

No, he did not fear for himself, but he did fear for his company. What had he been thinking, taking them with him? Balin was too old for this, Kíli, Fíli and Ori too young, Mr Baggins was just plain useless and Miss Andrews would be as much use in battle as a new-born babe. Yes, they were loyal and absolutely devoted to the cause – most of them at least – but the fact remained that at least half of the company were not trained warriors.

And Kate's book had spoken the truth about the moon runes. It had gotten the time that they would be able to see them right and the message had been right as well. The words were the same, not even as much one word had been different. And it scared him. It scared him so much that he had been moody and taciturn for the duration of their stay in Rivendell, apart from those times he had gotten into fights with the company advisor. They were back on their previous level of arguing: three times a day at least, loud enough to wake the dead, never ever agreeing on anything.

The worst thing about that was probably that he in a strange, very disturbing way cherished their arguments. They were familiar. He knew how to deal with them. Both parties knew what was expected, both of them knew how the other would react before they had even said something. And fighting with her made him feel like he was at least doing something to fight the chain of events that would eventually lead them all right into that battle that he didn't want to know about.

'Something on your mind, laddie?' It was Balin's voice that snapped him out of his musings in the end. He turned around to see his oldest friend standing some paces away from him, eyeing him with worry.

Thorin conjured up half a smile to reassure him. 'Are they ready to leave?' he inquired, ignoring the question.

Balin came to stand next to him. 'Almost,' he replied. 'What is wrong, laddie?' The voice was full of an almost fatherly concern and come to think of it, Balin sometimes was more of a father to Thorin than Thráin had ever been.

But he could not share this, this knowledge, with anyone. He would not burden his company with it. It was his to bear and his alone. It would be his responsibility to find a way around Kate's horrible knowledge and then hopefully none of this group would ever know in how much danger they had been.

'Nothing, Balin,' he lied, keeping his voice calm and even.

The elderly dwarf's eyes gave him the look that told Thorin he did not believe a single word of that. 'Now don't lie to me,' he said. How he managed to sound caring and stern at the same time was entirely beyond the dwarf king, but he did. 'You had a conversation with Kate on our first night here and ever since you have been what she calls on edge.'

It was slightly alarming how much influence Miss Andrews had on the way his men spoke. Her world must be a strange place, for she brought expressions with her that sounded completely bewildering to the dwarf. And the worst thing about this was that she got her companions to use those words and expressions as well. Just last night Kíli had been overheard to refer to the elves as 'bloody', Bofur had made 'shit!' his standard curse and three days previously Dwalin of all people had told Miss Andrews to 'get this show on the road' just before they went off to the training fields.

'Not you too, Balin?' he asked, arching one eyebrow.

His friend ignored that, knowing full well that Thorin was trying to find a way to avoid answering the question, thus probably confirming every suspicion he had about that conversation. 'What happened there, Thorin?'

'Nothing you need to concern yourself with.' It wasn't like him to be so dismissive towards his friend, but this was one thing that he could not bring himself to share. Balin was already the second caretaker of the company. He had enough burdens of himself to bear without shouldering Thorin's as well.

But Balin was no fool either. It was almost scary sometimes the way he knew what was going on in Thorin's head. 'It's about her book, isn't it?'

The dwarf king swivelled his head in his direction. 'How do you know?' he demanded.

'She mentioned it, the first night in Mr Baggins's house,' Balin reminded him. 'The others don't think much of it, but is true, isn't it?'

Would there be any point in denying? Thorin didn't think so and so he nodded. 'All those things she tells me are going to happen have come to pass so far.' It was the first time he said those words out loud and they hurt, Mahal, they hurt. 'We cannot go on, Balin, not if what she says is all true.'

That thought had been sitting in the back of his head for some days now. He had been able to go into this with at least the hope of succeeding, hoping for a plan that would enable them to kill the dragon while they all survived. Knowing that such a plan would never work and that there would indeed be casualties was something else entirely. He himself was ready to lay down his life for Erebor, but he realised he could not ask the same thing of the others. Most of them had never even seen the Lonely Mountain. How could he ask them to die for a place they had never even laid eyes on? He couldn't, he realised.

'We've always known it would be dangerous.' Balin laid his hand on his king's arm. 'We've always known we could die and we still chose to follow you.'

Thorin smiled, but it was a sad smile this time. 'That's it,' he pointed out. 'You follow me. You don't fight for Erebor, but for me.'

Balin's face told him he should have reached that conclusion several months previously.

'I can't ask you to do this, not for me,' Thorin spoke softly. His heart clenched at the idea of abandoning the quest, but it was what was best for his people. Balin had spoken true that evening in Bag End; they did have a good life in the Ered Luin now. True, it wasn't as rich and prosperous as life in Erebor had been, but they had survived, even thrived after a while. Why should he risk it all for a kingdom he may never even reclaim? Why would he ask these dwarves to follow him to their deaths when they had the chance to live?

The worst thing about it all was that they had never once questioned his motives or the quest itself. They had come when he had called them, trusting him with their lives. And now would he betray that trust by leading them to almost certain death? He was a king, albeit a king in exile, but a king nonetheless. He was responsible for them and to do this, that was not taking responsibility. It was as reckless as his grandfather's scheme to reclaim Moria.

'Who else should they be doing it for, laddie?' Balin questioned, arching one eyebrow.

Their roles seemed to have been reversed, Thorin observed. Back in the Shire he had been the confident one, fully believing in what they were doing and the possibility of success. Balin had been the one with doubts then. And now Thorin found himself questioning his every decision and Balin encouraged him to go on. The world had turned upside down, or so Kate would say. It seemed a rather appropriate way of describing their situation.

'For Erebor,' Thorin replied. 'For the prospect of having a homeland where they are welcome, where they can thrive, where they are not looked down upon by everyone they encounter.' It only now started to dawn on him that probably none of them shared this dream. It was his dream and he had talked them into pursuing it with him, but it wasn't their own.

'You asked for loyalty, honour and a willing heart,' Balin reminded him. 'And they have all given it to you. They rely on you to make good on the promises you made to them, lad.'

Thorin sighed. 'Even if I lead them right to their ends?'

That seemed to make Balin stop and think. 'Is that what the advisor says?'

Thorin nodded. 'Miss Andrews believes there will be a battle at the end of the quest.' He looked right ahead to prevent Balin from seeing his disappointment. 'Several of our number will die there, she says.'

He could feel his friend's inquisitive gaze, even though he didn't see it. 'Do you believe her?'

'How can I not?' Thorin countered. 'How can I not believe her when she has been right about everything else so far?' He felt for the key hidden away in his clothing and pulled it out. Once, not so long ago, it had been a beacon of hope to him, a good omen, a sign that he was indeed meant to do this. Now it only served to remind him of what could never be. 'Maybe someday someone will lead our people back home. I can't do it.'

Balin too looked at the key. 'Did Miss Andrews ever say that the quest would fail?'

No, she had not, Thorin knew, and he was fairly sure she would already have rubbed his nose in it if that was indeed the case. But he already knew that the price would be much too high. He could not be the one responsible for leading his kin to war and death again. His grandfather had done that and it had been the death of so many. _Our dead were beyond the count of grief_, Balin had said when he related the tale of the battle of Azanulbizar to Mr Baggins. Thorin had long ago sworn that he would never again allow such horrors to happen, not on his watch, and he would stand by that oath, even if it meant giving up on his lifelong dream.

'It matters not,' he said. 'The price is too high, my friend.' He made to turn. 'I'll inform the men of my decision. We're going back.'

Balin's hand grabbed his wrist. For such an old warrior his grip was remarkably tight. 'They won't listen,' he informed his king. 'They'll go on without you, if this is indeed your decision. They won't turn back now.'

'Why?' Thorin asked. 'You agreed when I said they were only following me. I am turning back.'

Balin shook his head, smiling in what appeared to be amusement. 'We're dwarves, laddie,' he reminded Thorin. 'We're stubborn. We don't change our minds once they're made up. And we are of Durin's Folk. Your grandfather used to say that those were ten times worse.'

He knew he was no different really, not when it really came down to it. That was why he had pursued this quest so fiercely in the first place. It was only the knowledge of the death of several of his companions that had swayed his mind. It was also the only thing that would ever have the power of doing that. Nothing else would ever have stopped him.

'Then what would you have me do, Balin?' he asked, deep down knowing the answer already.

'Come with us, laddie.' The answer was indeed predictable. 'Lead us.'

'To our deaths?' he questioned.

'If need be,' Balin nodded. 'None of us would think twice about it, you know that.' The expression on his face softened somewhat. 'But no future is set in stone, Thorin. We can make our own futures.'

'But can we?' Thorin asked. 'So far everything that has been written in that book has come to pass. What makes you think we will be able to escape our fates?' He could think of only one way and that was if they turned around now, before things could get any worse. Mahal knew that things had been bad enough already.

'Gandalf brought Miss Andrews here for a reason,' Balin pointed out, glancing over his shoulder to where she was busy collecting her luggage. The company's advisor had won the respect of most dwarves by saving Ori, even if it hadn't been intentional. But most importantly, she had chosen their side in the small conflicts they had with the elves. A common enemy, or common nuisance, did indeed unite them. Now she was chatting with Dori and Glóin, calling something out to Dwalin and laughing about a joke Fíli had just made. Right now she felt less like an outsider than Mr Baggins. Had Thorin not known better, he would have deemed her one of them.

'Gandalf meant for us to make use of her knowledge, lad,' his friend added when he did not reply.

And since when was it Gandalf leading this company? 'Her knowledge doesn't change things,' he said curtly, hoping to put an end to the conversation.

The other dwarf sighed. 'You do need to work together with her, not against her if you want to achieve the change, Thorin. I know you two don't like each other, but for the sake of the quest?'

Thorin was pretty much convinced that this was called emotional blackmail and he could hardly believe that it was Balin who was using it. But the most annoying thing – because that was what it was: annoying – was that he was right. So far he had done everything in his power to ignore the knowledge the young woman carried with her. He knew he had only listened to her whenever their need was greatest, when all the other options were already tried, and had already failed. Only then had they been working together.

But he wasn't sure he could do this. It had been hard for him already to accept that the book held true information, but it would be harder still for him to work with Kate. In doing that he would more or less allow her to decide their actions and Thorin had had more than enough of that with Gandalf already.

He caught himself already weighing his options, realising that going back was already no longer an option in his mind. Maybe that was all the answer he needed now. And Balin was right: even if he turned back, his men would not. And he could not let them go on their own. He needed to be there with them, to pursue his dream, even if that meant that he had to listen to Kate. As much as he hated that, he had decided long ago that he would do whatever it took to take back the Lonely Mountain from Smaug.

'Very well,' he nodded, keeping his expression as stern as he could manage even in the face of the relieved smile that Balin sent his way. 'We'll do it your way.'

'You made the right choice, Thorin.' Only a fool would doubt the sincerity in Balin's voice. 'We _will_ see this through.'

The dwarf king found it hard to doubt these words. They were spoken with such surety. Thorin wished he could feel something of it, for the doubt was still merrily gnawing away at him. He wasn't convinced that he had made the right choice, because he wasn't sure there was much of a choice to begin with. The words he had spoken in Bag End still held true: there was no choice for him. Either way people were going to make the journey to Erebor. There would be an attempt to kill the dragon and reclaim the Kingdom under the Mountain, with or without him. And he knew he could not stay away in that case. He needed to be there.

'I know,' he said, clasping the other's shoulder. 'We will see this through.' _Or we'll die trying._

**Kate**

If Kate were to say she wasn't a little reluctant to leave behind the elven kingdom, she would be lying. She did regret the need to go on so soon again. It had indeed been nice to have a few days to rest and recover their strength. In Rivendell she could sleep in, eat well – even if the salad diet was starting to become slightly annoying – and spend some time on other things beside riding, eating and sleeping. Dwalin had taken it upon himself to teach her some more with the sword. In his own way he acted friendly towards her now and she was glad of it, because she had already seen that his opinion mattered to Thorin. It wouldn't hurt to have him on her side.

But after Dwalin's training there was still more than enough time for other things. She was still injured, as the elven healers never failed to remind her and her teacher, and therefore the trainings had to be short. She filled her time with reading the few books she had brought with her. In that activity she had soon found a friend in Ori. He was a scribe and therefore more than interested in books. And so they had made a deal: he would get access to her books – except one – and he would teach her some of the dwarven language and runes in return. Kate always had a knack for languages and it was actually nice to have something of a challenge put to her.

The deal was frowned upon however, as it was something of a dwarf rule not to teach their language to anyone who was not of their race. Ori foolishly – or conveniently – had forgotten about that and he had been thoroughly scolded for it by his brother. Balin had intervened in the end – since Thorin had been doing a disappearing act at the time again – saying that the deal had already been made and that there was nothing anyone could do about it now. They'd have to accept it now. The words had been spoken with a quick wink in Ori's direction though, making Kate suspect he wasn't as disapproving as he tried to come across.

'We do need to keep those lessons up while we're on the road,' she told Ori when they were packing the last of the luggage. 'Or else it'll all slip away.'

'I don't think we will have much time…' Ori's voice trailed off.

'We can talk while walking, can't we?' she countered. 'Heaven knows I pronounce those words wrong all the time…' And that had been a source of amusement for the rest of the company. Only two nights ago her attempt at speaking dwarvish had sent Bofur falling off his chair, clutching his sides and howling with laughter.

'You're not doing too bad considering, lass,' Dwalin told her. 'It took some far longer.'

'Yeah, well, they probably didn't have an entire week to sit back and do nothing,' Kate retorted. She liked that he was being nicer, but now that it came to it, she had no idea what to do with his praise. 'And it does help speaking the language with you lot.' She shrugged.

'You are good at it,' Ori spoke up. Ever since shoving him out of the warg's way she could do nothing wrong in his eyes, or in his brothers', which was decidedly worse. 'What kind of work did you do where you come from?'

'I was a journalist,' Kate replied, shoving the last things back in the rucksack. 'Or trying to be one, actually.' She caught their confused looks and could bang her head against the wall for not realising sooner that that particular profession did not exist in Middle Earth. She clarified: 'It's a bit like what you do, Ori. A journalist "collects" the news from all over the world and writes it down so that the other people know what's happening.' It wasn't a perfect explanation, but it would have to do and at least it gave them some idea of her work.

Thinking about home wasn't as painful as it had been either, Kate found. Now that she started to accept that there was just nothing she could do to change Gandalf's mind regarding the time he sent her back, she had more or less resigned herself to it. It didn't mean she suddenly liked it, but it did help her cope with the situation. And at least she could hope to get back home one day. She would have her family fussing over her, demanding to know where she had been. She would probably need to lie about that, because her telling that she'd made a trip to Middle Earth might just earn her a one-way ticket to the nearest mental asylum. But apart from that things would go back to normal over time. True, she would most likely be out of a job after such a long absence, but that she could do something about. The most important thing was that she would go back home. This was just her trip around the world, she supposed, even if it was a different world than her own.

'You used to make journals like I am doing with this journey?' Ori asked in a surprised voice.

'Shorter articles mainly, but yes,' she nodded. 'There are some similarities between our jobs.' She actually smiled when she saw the hopeful smile on his face. 'I could help you every now and then if you'd like, although my handwriting is not as neat as yours, I'm afraid.'

The smile she got by way of a reply lit up the dwarf's entire face.

'He's a good lad,' Dwalin commented as the scribe walked off to assist Dori with something. 'Not much of a fighter, but his heart's in the right place.'

Kate nodded. 'That sounds about right. Listen, Dwalin, I really didn't know about that rule of not teaching outsiders your language. I would never have asked had I known…'

'The fault wasn't yours, lass,' came the gruff reply.

She frowned at that. 'You won't go too hard on him?'

'Careful, some folks might start to think you care about the members of this company.' The warrior was gone before she had the chance to react.

Not that she did know what she was supposed to be saying to that anyway. Truth was probably that she did start to care for her companions. Not to do so would not only be pointless, but also foolish. She had not chosen to be here like the others, but it would be a lie to say that she had not grown to care for most of them. Thorin was still a pain in the backside, Gandalf she could not stand from time to time, Nori was a bit difficult to get along with after he had tried to take some of things of hers that most certainly did not belong to him and it was altogether difficult to communicate with Bifur, but with the rest she was more or less on friendly terms, even if they still didn't like the fact that she was a woman.

'Ugh, life is complicated,' she muttered under her breath, swinging the rucksack on her back.

'I am assuming you did not address me, my lady?' Argalad, the elven healer that had treated her, asked with a serene smile.

'You would assume right,' she replied, feeling very uncomfortable indeed. She sometimes wondered if elves ever swore, or got really mad. She had only seen them in three different moods: they were either wise and serious, serene and smiling or happy and silly. Argalad seemed to be in the second mood and somehow it made her want to do something as irrational as shouting at him, if only to see if he was capable of any other emotion, even if it was only irritation. But that would most certainly make her look incredibly stupid, so she decided against it. 'I'm assuming there is a reason why you are here?'

'Only to advise you to not use your ankle to much yet, my lady,' the elf replied smoothly.

'Thanks to your Lord's willingness to provide us with ponies I do not think that will be an issue,' Kate remarked dryly. She was very glad indeed that the events seemed to be following the book in this case rather than the movie. Her riding skills were still not too great, but it was better than walking all day. She might as well enjoy it while she could. 'Any other pointers you'd wish to give me?'

That was met by a blank face. 'Pointers, my lady?'

'Further advice,' she clarified. She really should be more careful with her words. All too often she would use words or expressions that were completely unknown to the people of Middle Earth. She had been too close to giving away her real identity here more than once because of it. Lord Elrond seemed to pass it off as her being from a less civilised corner of the world, but she did need to take more care.

The elf handed her a bottle by way of a reply.

Kate took it and studied it. 'What is this?' she questioned.

The healer smiled serenely. 'For your female problem,' he replied in a hushed voice so the others could not hear. 'It will soothe the pain you are experiencing.'

Kate could feel herself colour a shade of bright red. The whole thing had been embarrassing enough the first day, when she had been showered in advice from not only several female elves, but also from their male counterparts. And she was uncomfortable enough discussing this topic with women, but to talk about such things with men felt wholly inappropriate to her.

'Thank you,' she muttered, wishing the ground would just open up and swallow her to put an end to this embarrassing scene. 'It's greatly appreciated.'

The elf gave her half a bow. 'I wish you good luck on the rest of the journey to the Iron Hills, Lady Catherine.'

'I am sure we will be fine,' she assured him, not really convinced of her own words. 'And I thank you for your concern and good cares.' She at least hoped this was polite enough. It could well be that Tolkien made mention of elvish etiquette, but if he did, she just drew a total blank.

If she screwed up, the elf did not show it. He simply bowed again and left, leaving Kate to study the bottle he had given her. It was a rather large one, but she supposed it would fit in her luggage. And although she would never really admit it, she was eternally grateful for this thing. If she was careful it would last until the quest was over and done with.

'What is that?' a voice demanded from somewhere behind her.

'How good of you to join us, Mr Oakenshield,' she said without turning. 'Your timing is impeccable. We've just finished packing.' The king was getting on her nerves lately. The last week he had disappeared to God knows where for hours at a time, and when he came back he looked more brooding and grumpy than when he had left. And, come to think of it, she had yet to see him do a single chore. He may be a king, but they were all on this journey together. He should help them every now and then, because as far as Kate was aware they were not here as his servants.

He ignored her words and shot a wary glance at the bottle. 'I do not like to repeat myself,' he warned her. 'What is that?'

She understood the wariness to a certain extent. He must have seen that she got this from the elves he so distrusted, but did he really believe her to be as foolish as to accept something that was possibly dangerous? 'That is something you do not need to concern yourself with,' she informed him in as dismissive a tone as she could manage. Apart from his firm belief in her foolishness, she just didn't feel like discussing the use of this particular medicine with him. That had all been far too embarrassing the first time around.

'You received this from the hands of elves,' Thorin countered. 'And now you bring it into my company. It _does_ concern me.'

She was very much tempted to roll her eyes at him, but it was still early and she had no ambition to get into a shouting match already. They had far too much of those over the last week already. Fortunately they had been pursuing the bickering-like-an-old-married-couple kind of relationship rather than the lovey-dovey sort of marriage to fool the elves with. Kate was fairly sure the elves had never been too far away and had been witness to at least several of their verbal spats. But not one of them had questioned their believed relationship, so she figured they were still fooled.

The most embarrassing thing about it all, and something Kate had hardly given any thought at all until the moment was there, was the fact that Thorin had placed his bedroll far closer to hers than either of them were actually comfortable with. She had almost thrown a tantrum then, until Balin pointed out that it would be more than a little suspicious for them to be sleeping on different sides of the camp. Kíli, waggling his eyebrows like some movie villain, had added that it could always have been worse: the elves could have given them a single room to share.

Yes, it could have been worse, Kate admitted. It didn't mean that she liked the arrangement though and she would be very glad indeed when she could leave this place, even if she had enjoyed the chance to take it easy for a week. She wasn't particularly looking forward to what was still to come, but she didn't long to stay any longer either. She still stood by what she had thought earlier: this place was not meant for mortals.

Realising her thoughts had wandered far away from the topic of her medicine and her argument – not yet a fight – with Thorin, she gave him a mocking look. 'It isn't poison, if that's what you're afraid of.'

But the dwarf was not going to let go of this one in a hurry, obviously not as convinced as she was that the contents of the bottle were not lethal. 'Then _what_ is it?'

'Never mind that,' she told him. 'It's for my own personal use. I won't hand it out to the company, so you don't need to fear I'll poison them. I'll only poison myself, for which you will probably be only too grateful.'

His expression told her that he didn't think this his idea of a joke. And maybe, when you hated elves as much as Thorin did, it wasn't. 'Kate, I have no time for this.' It was only due to the fact they were still within elvish earshot that he called her by her first name. Not that it mattered. The tone was the same as when he called her by her surname. 'Tell me what is in that bottle or I swear by Mahal I'll have it removed from your person.'

Wasn't he infuriating sometimes? 'What on earth happened to us being allies?' she demanded, hoping to deflect the question like that. 'Do you treat all your allies in this fashion? Small wonder they didn't show up for your quest.'

The words had hardly left her mouth when she realised that she had now gone too far. Thorin staggered back as if she had physically hit him. She had known this was a very sensitive subject, one that wasn't joked about. His own kin had abandoned him and, if her little theory was right, even betrayed him. This was by no means something to throw back in his face like that, especially when his allies' behaviour was not his fault.

'Sorry!' she exclaimed, really meaning it. Verbal sparring was one thing, insulting him was quite another. 'I didn't think. I don't really mean it.' Kate had no idea why she would apologise so much, but it felt necessary now. And after all her tongue had once again been quicker than her brain.

He gave her a curt nod that told her nonetheless that he was still far from happy. 'Apology accepted,' he said. 'Now tell me, what is in the bottle?'

He was quite possibly only this insistent because she refused to provide him with an answer, Kate pondered. Such evasive behaviour would make anyone in his senses suspicious and Thorin was already on edge.

She sighed. 'It's a painkiller,' she admitted, feeling her cheeks already heating up. Oh, how she hated discussing this kind of thing with men, or with anyone really.

Silence followed. Thorin arched one eyebrow, giving her that look that made it all too clear he did not understand what she was talking about, but would rather be torn to bits by wargs than ask her about it for fear of looking stupid.

'For that condition that you really do _not_ want to know about,' she added, wishing the ground would just swallow her up to save her from this awkward situation.

Understanding dawned in his eyes, quickly to be replaced by a look of discomfort. He had seen the horrors of the world and remained strong in the face of events that would have sent less brave men running for cover, screaming for their mummy, but as soon as a woman mentioned her monthly period, he was ready to do a runner. It was quite ridiculous really, come to think of it, to be so "scared" of something so natural.

The mask slipped back on in no time however. 'Be ready to move out within the quarter of an hour,' he informed her. 'I won't wait for stragglers.' He had marched off before she had the chance to reply.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _I suppose it sounds strange to say that I'm not really sad to leave Rivendell so soon already. It was nice being here and it was even nicer to be able to have some time to just sit back and do nothing, but some of these elves are really getting on my nerves, not to mention that I am more than glad to drop this whole marriage act. I'm pretty much convinced now that the elves have had more wine than healthy. How else could one come to the conclusion Thorin and I would be some kind of dream couple, never mind an "excellent team," as Gandalf would have them believe?_

* * *

**Next chapter they'll be back on the road. I wasn't going to spend so much time in Rivendell, but there's one thing Kate and Thorin absolutely agree on: the number of pages necessary to tell their story.**

**And I just realised that Kate's sword doesn't have a name yet. Anyone have any ideas on that account, since I don't.**

**Thank you for reading and would you really make my day by leaving a review? Constructive criticism, suggestions for future chapters and of course your thoughts on this chapter, I'd like to hear it!**


	16. Chapter 16 Acceptance?

**Chapter 16**

**Acceptance?**

_I soon started regretting wanting to leave Rivendell. We had passed the Edge of the Wild now, leaving all civilisation behind us. We camped on hard rocks, stormy plains or under wild trees and rationed our supplies to make them last longer, supplementing the diet with some edible plants and the game Kíli managed to shoot. His gift with the bow was a gift from heaven. He had a great aim and kept our meat supplies well stocked, for the elves, not surprisingly, had failed to provide us with anything even remotely meat-related. After days of salad and bread, roasted rabbit was absolutely delicious. _

_Looking back on the journey now, that was possibly my favourite part of it. Yes, camping under the stars is not always as much fun as the stories would want you to believe, but we were not chased by orcs for once and the scenery more than made up for any discomfort we might experience. I could keep watching around me and yet never be bored. This part of Middle Earth was of a wild beauty, landscape untouched by any hand. It was vast and wild, yes, but all the more impressive and beautiful for it. _

_The whole company was more at ease now. The days of rest had been good for all of us, I think. There were stories and songs on the road and I soon started to regret ever making mention of the game of _I Spy_, because Bofur and Kíli could keep that up for hours at a time. Not that I can really blame them. There was so much to spy that it was hard to run out of objects, although it remained a slight mystery to all of us how Bofur could be so sure that Fíli's spare socks were blue, since they were safely packed away in his luggage._

_I didn't spend much time around Thorin and Gandalf those days. Thorin seemed to continue his constant brooding on his pony a little ahead of the rest of us and no one thought it wise to disturb him too much. The wizard was unusually quiet as well. He smoked more than was healthy – not that I thought it ever was – and seemed to have a lot on his mind altogether. It was an unspoken rule to let him be for the time being._

_Of course, the break from all the arguing and fighting could not last forever…_

**Kate**

'Move your feet, lass,' Balin advised.

'Your left side is wide open,' Fíli chimed in.

'As is your neck,' Kíli added.

Kate sent them all a glare. 'Then do enlighten me, please!' she exclaimed in exasperation. 'How do I protect my entire body all at once? Anyway, Dwalin can only strike at one place at a time, right? He was aiming for my right side!'

'It could have been a distraction manoeuvre,' the half-bald warrior pointed out. 'You should be prepared for anything.'

'How, pray am I going to cover every possible angle of my body at the same freaking time?' she cried. 'I'm only human, not Mystic Meg!'

Kate was just about ready to throw her sword to the ground and tell Dwalin to stick his ideas about sword fighting lessons there where the sun didn't shine. True, Dwalin had years and years of experience in his field and Kate had only just started, but he sure as hell didn't have to rub her nose into it all the time, did he? She knew she sucked at anything to do with fighting and she had a feeling not even her right hook counted for anything with him. Right now the only thing that kept her from giving up on this fighting thing entirely was the fact that Bilbo was doing even worse than she was. The hobbit stumbled over his own feet and had no idea at all what to do with the blade Gandalf had given to him. Kate at least could pretend that she knew what she was doing.

'Mystic Meg?' Nori asked. He sat down to the side, a little too amused by this whole display of incompetence.

'Never you mind,' Kate told him. 'What matters is that I can't do this! How on earth am I going to hold my own against orcs?'

'I was wondering about that as well,' someone muttered.

The journalist had the feeling Thorin was the owner of that grumbling voice. No surprise there really. As far as she was aware the dwarf king was still firmly opposed against her presence in his company. The rest of the company had more or less accepted her. No one had even really protested against Ori teaching her a bit of Khuzdul. Thorin on the other hand had almost thrown a fit when he found out, sending the young scribe glares that should have killed him on the spot. But the damage was already done, so now he grudgingly allowed it, although he still glowered at them whenever he caught them having a lesson.

'You really are a little ray of sunshine, aren't you?' she shot back sarcastically. 'Thanks so much for your moral support by the way.'

She looked at the sword in her hand, glaring at it as if the weapon could help it that she was so bad at fighting. Once again she realised how ill-suited she was to be on a quest. It had become increasingly clear that her fighting skills were not worth mentioning and her advice was constantly ignored by the man whose opinion seemed to be the only one that mattered. The only thing that made that she was not a complete waste of space here was that she had at least some survival skills. She knew how to cook – which was a plus since almost no one else seemed to be able to produce something that was actually edible apart from Bombur and Bilbo – she knew how to get a fire going and she knew better than to complain about sleeping under the stars on a bedroll that did absolutely nothing to stop her from feeling rocks and tree roots underneath it.

Balin patted her shoulder. 'Give it time, lass,' he told her. 'No one is a sword master in one day.'

'How about a few weeks?' she asked wryly. 'And I don't need to be an expert to know that I do not have any natural talent.' She sheathed the sword and made to walk back to the campfire. 'Maybe I should just settle on practising my right hook. Who knows, it might just work on the orcs.'

Dwalin laughed, a low rumbling that somehow always sounded like he was making fun of her. 'We'll practise again tomorrow,' he informed her.

Kate could only just suppress a groan. She hated sword lessons and today she didn't have the excuse of having Khuzdul lessons with Ori. The young dwarf had borrowed her worn paperback copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ and, after some explanation about her world, had disappeared behind it and had yet to emerge. It had been like that ever since she had given it to him three days ago. Her teacher would read while she was being beaten around by the scary warrior of the group, not exactly the arrangement she had had in mind when she promised him he could read her books.

'Interesting?' she asked, dropping down next to him.

'It is a very interesting culture that is being described in this book,' the scribe replied. 'So many etiquette rules to remember.'

'Your culture doesn't have them?' she wondered. For all she knew there could be. After all, a travelling group of men was hardly the ideal group to learn about a culture's ways. Things were always different on the road. It either brought out the best or the worst in people, but one thing was for sure: manners didn't last long in the wild and table manners seemed to be the first thing to go straight out of the window as soon as civilisation was left behind.

'They are different,' Ori explained. He beckoned at the book. 'Are they still like this?'

Kate gave a bark of laughter. 'Thank God, no. Mind you, the lack of manners is starting to annoy me as well, but all in all, I'd say that things are better now. More spontaneous.'

'Talking about that book again?' Dori asked.

'Of course. They hardly talk about anything else,' Fíli laughed. 'Let me see that?' He didn't even await an answer and took it right out of the scribe's hands. He flipped back to the first chapter and started to read. '_"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife?"_' Because of his confusion with the line it came out as a question. 'You're reading this?' The question was directed at Kate.

She had felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment, even as she did not know exactly why she was embarrassed. Maybe it was because to her it felt like he dwarf was making fun of her. He had read that line in such a disbelieving voice that, at least to her, seemed to mean that he wasn't very impressed with her reading material.

She got up and snatched it from his hands. 'Obviously,' she sneered. 'Or else I would not carry it around in my bag, don't you think? And I'll have you know that this is a rather famous novel where I come from.'

Fíli's eyebrows arched in question. 'Novel?'

'Story,' Kate clarified. Lending her books to Ori meant that she frequently had to act as a glorified dictionary, since there were a lot of words and terms the dwarves were unfamiliar with. They may be speaking the same language, but that obviously did not mean that they understood one another all the time.

'It sounds interesting,' Bofur commented. He was leaning back against a rock, smoking. 'You could read it to us. We are in need of a bit of entertainment here.'

The absurdity of that question almost made her laugh. 'You want me to read a romance story to you?' she asked incredulously.

To her amusement Fíli looked at the book as if it was some kind of dangerous animal that was about to attack him. Some things were universal, Kate observed, like the fact that most men were no fans of romance stories. Ori was the exception here.

'Ehm, on second thought…' Fíli's voice trailed off and several of the other dwarves were looking uncomfortable as well. Really, men!

'I do have another book,' she told them. 'A fairy-tale of some kind. About adventures.' She didn't really know why she was proposing this. She wasn't a great fan of reading to people and she didn't feel like discussing all those things that they were unfamiliar to them. But entertainment was in short supply lately and she had more than enough of _I Spy_ to last a lifetime. And somehow it always seemed to come to that when all other options ran out. Maybe reading while there was light to read by wasn't such a bad idea.

Thorin's head swivelled in her direction immediately and Kate realised just a moment too late that he thought she was about to read from the book he so feared. 'I am not sure this is a wise idea,' he told her.

'It's about children having adventures in this place called Narnia,' she told him. 'It's considered a children's book where I come from. Hardly traumatising stuff.' _And did you really think I was just about to read _The Hobbit_ to them?_ Sometimes Thorin could be really thick. 'I think there's even dwarves in it.'

Thorin's expression was not anything less disapproving than it had been before, but at least he nodded. There was something very unnerving about his behaviour the last few weeks, Kate pondered as she went to retrieve the book from her bag. Ever since they had decided to be at least allies for the duration of the journey, he had retreated into himself, being taciturn and moody, hardly speaking to anyone, not even Balin, who was clearly his closest friend.

It could have something to do with the appearance of the moon runes. His entire expression and attitude had changed the moment those silver runes appeared on the map. Of course she figured it would be a shock to see them, especially because the dwarf had been doing his best to think that her book told him nothing but nonsense, but this reaction she could not for the life of her understand. It must be something else, she decided, because no amount of mysteriously appearing moon runes could justify this reaction.

The dwarves settled around the fire. 'Over here, lass,' Bofur beckoned. 'You've got the best light here.' He was right. The light of day was now fading rapidly and the firelight was all they would soon have left. The summer days were still long, but it was getting rather late now.

Kate walked over, chuckling to herself. 'I feel like a teacher about to read to a class of school boys,' she confessed, sitting down between Bifur and Bofur. She was not sure how much the former would understand of the tale, but he was nice enough to her anyway, handing her a blanket to sit on.

'What's this story about?' Dwalin questioned. He was being nicer to her lately, but when it came to stuff from her world, he was still slightly suspicious.

'Basically it's about two kids from my world who travel to other worlds and have some kind of adventure there,' Kate summarised the first Narnia book. 'And then it all flows from there.'

'Adventures?' Bilbo spoke up. 'Like what we're doing now, you mean?' The hobbit didn't like the idea very much by the sound of it.

'Nothing dragon-related,' she reassured him. So far Bilbo had avoided talking about the 'furnace with wings' as much as he possibly could and Kate could not blame him for that. Her own role in the quest meant that she would possibly not even be allowed near the beast even if she wanted and that made it a little easier to be with this group. It stopped her from worrying. Bilbo, however did not have that luxury. He would be sent right into the dragon's lair and being Bilbo Baggins – 'of Bag End. We do not want any adventures here, thank you very much' – it must simply terrify him to think of it. 'But it's about defeating evil witches, preventing wars, reclaiming a kingdom from a usurper…' She realised that that particular tale might be appealing to her companions.

Balin nodded. 'It sounds interesting. Why don't you just read it to us?'

It was probably one of the strangest things Kate had ever done, she reflected as she opened the book. She had shouted insult at trolls, argued with a dwarf king who was supposed only to exist in fiction and she had visited the elves, yet it felt strange to really bring something that was so clearly from her own world into Middle Earth. It was almost inappropriate, yet here she was, sitting by a campfire, surrounded by dwarves, some of which pretended not to be interested, about to read a famous story from her own world. _Oh well, the world has already turned upside down, hasn't it?_

'Okay, there we go.' She took a deep breath. 'The Magician's Nephew, chapter one: The Wrong Door.' She risked a quick glance around the fire. Most of the group had settled down, ready to be entertained. Dwalin was still not too much at ease, Óin was leaning closer in order to hear her better – Kate hoped she would not be forced to repeat every sentence twice – and Gandalf was obscured by his smokescreen. Thorin, unsurprisingly, had left the company to stand somewhere a little away from the group, staring off into the distance, brooding again. She shook her head in mild amusement and then began with the story: '_This is a story about something that happened long ago when your grandfather was a child. It is a very important story because it shows how all the comings and goings between our world and the land of Narnia first began…_'

As it was it took them a whole hour to get through the first chapter and by the end of it Kate was positive that she would like to do nothing more than to haul the book away from her in frustration. _Bugger these dwarves and their untimely interruptions_, she silently fumed as she put it back in her rucksack. First she had been forced to explain every word the company had not known and after that the group had somehow gotten into a discussion about Uncle Andrew's behaviour, which led to Fíli and Kíli comparing that Uncle to their own. Thorin had walked away at that point, but no one seemed to notice.

'That was absolutely the last time I read to dwarves,' she promised, muttering under her breath.

'I do think they rather enjoyed it, lass,' an amused voice spoke up behind her.

Kate swivelled around. 'Balin! Could you just _not_ do that, please? You scared the crap out of me.' She closed her bag and sat down, seeing as Balin had done the same. 'And I am not really sure I can agree with you. If this is anything to go by…' She looked at the group, that had now burst out into a silly nonsense song. 'I should never have done it.'

'They liked the entertainment,' Balin threw in.

'I'm sure they did,' Kate said wryly. There was after all no question that her companions were not bored this evening. 'I'm just not so sure Thorin approved of it though.' The dwarf king appeared to have changed into a statue. It just wasn't natural to stand in that same posture for so long.

Balin smiled indulgently. 'He has a lot on his mind. It's none of your fault.'

Kate arched an eyebrow. 'I wish I could believe it,' she muttered. The way he acted would make it look like she was personally responsible for everything that had gone wrong on this journey so far. 'What is the matter with him anyway? He's been giving me this looks and I'd be damned if I knew why he's been glaring at me like that!' She had not been planning to discuss this with anyone, but now that she was Balin was probably the best one to share it with. He was rather close to the leader of the company and always seemed to know what was going on inside his head. He also happened to be the wisest person in the entire company. His calm and gentle manners could stop almost any fight and Kate often found herself jealous of his patience with people.

The elderly dwarf patted her shoulder. 'It's not your fault, Kate, none of it. He's having a hard time.'

'He's been giving people a hard time, more like,' she muttered under her breath. His quiet brooding was somehow worse than the constant heated debates and shouting matches. Those she could handle without any problem.

Balin tried not to show his amusement, but failed. 'You are so very alike,' he remarked. 'Very similar tempers. It's interesting to see.'

She gave him a pointed look. 'I am not brooding.'

Balin ignored that, but she could see he disagreed. 'Give him time, lass. He has a hard time accepting that book of yours.'

Her jaw almost dropped. '_That_ is what this is about?' she asked, probably far too loud. She shook her head in disbelief. 'And you're wrong anyway. He does not believe in any of my knowledge, especially not that book.' Or rather, he did sometimes, but only as a last resort and that did not count in Kate's opinion.

Balin stood up again. 'It would seem Thorin is not the only one who has a hard time accepting,' he commented, before leaving her alone with her thoughts, completely confused.

**Thorin**

The company was happy tonight. There had been storytelling and singing earlier. No one bothered about keeping the noise down. And there was no real need to either. This area was safe and Thorin was standing watch himself. Nothing would be able to get near the company without him knowing and that reassured him somewhat. And he didn't begrudge them their careless laughter. There would be days enough when there would be no time for such frivolities.

And that was exactly what was bothering him. He had been thinking long and hard since that conversation he had with Balin on the morning of their departure from Rivendell. He had come to realise that he already believed Kate's book, but he just could not admit it, not even to himself. The moment he did that he knew he would have to face all the questions and doubts he had now stored away all over again.

And that he could not do, because there was no way back and thinking about it would solve nothing. As his oldest friend had so accurately pointed out, these dwarves would go on anyway. The only ones prepared to turn back would be Mr Baggins and Miss Andrews and that would be no use at all, since they were not the ones he cared about.

He remembered the night he had made his alliance with the human woman. She had accused him of not acting like they were in an alliance and Thorin knew she was right. He had avoided her as if she had some kind of contagious disease he might just catch if he got too close to her. Sooner rather than later he would have to face her. He just didn't know what would happen if they finally came face to face. Thorin had never been one to admit that he had been wrong and he could not see him say such a thing to Kate of all people.

Balin's advice had been to work with her rather than against her. He had told the dwarf king to let her use that book, as Gandalf had brought her here to do. He had pointed out that the reason why all the worst things of her story came to pass was that Thorin only started listening to her when all other options had already run out, when it was simply far too late for anyone to avoid certain things from happening. The worst thing about that theory was that it made perfect sense.

He shook his head. Surely he could afford to wait another day before facing her. And maybe, if he was really lucky, she would come to him rather than the other way around. So far she had been unable to restrain herself from informing him of a danger that she believed to be lying ahead.

It was as if Kate had somehow heard his thoughts. 'Mr Oakenshield?' came her voice, rather softly and timid for once. It somehow did not suit her at all.

'Miss Andrews,' he acknowledged without turning.

She came to stand next to him, but did not yet speak. From the corner of his eyes he discreetly observed her. The advisor seemed pensive, staring off into the darkness not unlike Thorin was prone to do when he was trying to think.

'Was there something you wished to discuss with me?' he asked after several minutes of silence. 'Or did you simply wish to do some stargazing?'

A sarcastic grin lit up her face. 'No, actually I was planning on doing a statue imitation like you have been doing for the past four hours,' she shot back. 'We need to talk,' she added before he could respond to her altogether rude remark.

'So it would seem,' he agreed. Thorin wasn't really sure this was the best time or place for that conversation, but he knew that they should indeed discuss what to do now. And most of the company had gone to sleep now, so there wouldn't be many eavesdroppers listening in. not that that would matter when they got themselves into a shouting match again. Bombur had been muttering darkly that their fights could wake the dead and frighten the orcs more than any sword could do. Thorin was with him on the first one, but he had his doubts about the second.

'And you are going to listen to me?' Kate asked warily, clearly suspicious of the fact that he seemed to agree with her on anything at all.

'We did agree on being allies, did we not?' He arched one eyebrow at her in a quizzical manner, as if the very notion that he would not listen to her was utterly ridiculous.

'You've changed your tune,' was the muttered response that he was probably not meant to hear. She continued, in a slightly louder tone: 'How long until we reach the mountain pass ways?'

The road had already started to rise. 'Three or four days if the weather holds,' the dwarf replied.

Kate gave a curt nod in confirmation. 'Would it actually help if I shared some of my knowledge or are you just going to slap it down again? Because in that case I'll know not to waste my breath on this.'

Her assumption made him want to hit something or, better still her. Unfortunately he had been brought up never to hit women, not even those as annoying as Kate Andrews. Nevertheless her assumption that he was this grumpy and unkind man who never listened to anyone made his blood practically boil. It was downright irritating to know that the reason this vexed him so much was that there was actually some truth in her words.

'Please share,' he said in as icy a voice as he could manage.

'Well, if that bloody book is right we'll soon be walking in on a real thunder-battle,' she told him. 'Between stone giants.'

He had been telling himself he actually wanted to know what her knowledge about this subject was, but now he changed his mind. He really had not wanted to know. 'A thunder-battle?' he repeated.

Kate smiled wryly. 'It's not really my idea of comfortable travelling either. Any chance we could change route?'

_About as likely to happen as Gandalf giving up smoking_. 'That will not be possible,' Thorin informed her. 'The other passes are infested with goblins.'

'So is the one we'll be taking,' Kate countered immediately. 'They changed the place where they had their front door not that long ago, according to the book…' Her voice trailed off, suddenly hesitant. Thorin had to admit that given their history of discussing said book – or rather: fighting over said book – he could not even really blame her for being careful to mention it in his presence. 'Look, I know you don't like it…' She fell silent again, not knowing how to proceed.

Thorin wasn't sure either. He really wanted to do nothing more than start to shout again how he didn't make his decisions based on a book from a different world. But that had gotten them nowhere in the past. True, it had gotten them to be nearly cooked by trolls and chased by wargs and orcs, whereas the book had saved him from having to ask Lord Elrond about the message of the map.

But could he do it? Could he really lay his fate in the hands of one loud-mouthed, short-tempered human woman who didn't want to be here? Every bit of common sense he possessed protested against the very notion of it. But he was the king and he was expected to keep his people safe. He was not yet convinced that Kate would be the best qualified person to help him in achieving that, but he could not really sit back and let everything go what Kate called belly-up because he was too cowardly to give this a try. Bugger Balin and his emotional blackmail, but he did not really have a choice in this matter. Lately it would seem he didn't have a choice in anything. That did nothing to brighten his mood either.

'Miss Andrews,' he said, getting her attention. 'Neither of us likes the situation we are now in, but I am afraid that we are now forced to cooperate.' By both Gandalf and Balin. 'Tell me what you think you know.' There, now he had at least made it sound as if he still didn't really believe it.

She huffed. 'Try to make it even less enthusiastic, why don't you?'

'Are you here to make fun of me, Miss Andrews?' he demanded. He glared at her, but in the darkness that wasn't as effective as it was in daylight.

'No, I am here because some bloody wizard wants me to be the company advisor.' The tone was undeniably bitter and frustrated. 'If I got the choice, I'd be back home by now, but we both know Gandalf is not going to let me get out of this that easily. We're stuck with each other, it would seem, as much as we both hate that. And I'm absolutely fed up with you sending me those dark, brooding stares. Shouting I can handle, but not this.'

That stopped him dead in his tracks. She could handle the shouting? Thorin felt slightly uneasy when he realised this could well mean she relished in those arguments as much as he seemed to be doing. It didn't do much to convince him they were both entirely sane and it certainly worried him that they had, once again, found some common ground, with shouting matches no less.

'Would you prefer me to shout at you?' he asked, trying and failing to keep the incredulous tone out of his voice.

'No, I'd prefer you to listen to me, for once in your bloody life,' she corrected him. 'We agreed on being allies, back in Rivendell. Allies don't need to like one another in order to work together. You can hate me as much as you choose, but let's at least try to make this thing work, for the company's sake.'

She turned to leave. Thorin didn't know why he was doing what he did – he could not recall giving himself permission to do it anyway – but when he checked again he had gripped her wrist, making her half turn to look at him.

'I do not hate you,' he corrected her assumption. 'I may not like you either, but I do not hate you either.'

A wry smile graced her features. 'I consider that progress.'

Thorin nodded and let go off her wrist. Kate walked back to the camp and seated herself on a rock near the campfire, burying her nose in a book. From this distance the dwarf could not see what she was reading, but it would probably be a fair guess to say that it was the book he feared so much.

He watched her for some time. She was unaware that he was watching, giving him the opportunity to study her as she read parts, made notes in the book itself and then flipped through the pages in search of something. For some reason Kate Andrews was taking her task seriously. There was a deep frown in her forehead from time to time as if she was thinking long and hard on something.

It made Thorin wonder. Why did she make such an effort out of all this? Was she afraid that Gandalf would never let her go back to her own time if she did not give it her all? He briefly considered the option of her genuinely caring about what happened to this company, but he quickly discarded the idea. No, she did not care, not about the quest. The company was another matter, he reflected. If anything, she was being accepted. It was a slow process, mainly because most of the men still didn't understand what she was even doing here – to them Kate was a tag-along who was only here because of the wizard's whims – but since she had proven herself to not be a complete waste of space, they first came to tolerate her presence and now she just belonged to the group, the result of having to put up with her for long enough. Thorin figured the same might be true for the hobbit. It was a strange thing indeed.

He went over what Miss Andrews had said in his head, trying to make sense of it. She had mentioned a thunder-battle and stone giants. It didn't really come as a surprise. Thorin had heard more than one rumour about giants in the Misty Mountains, although no one ever seemed to have seen them with their own eyes. It always was someone whose friend of a friend had encountered them, but the fact remained that the rumours kept going around, so there must be some ground for them. It was a strange thing for Thorin to realise that this was the first event mentioned by Kate's book that sounded even remotely plausible. Mind you, the far less plausible things had also come to pass.

It wasn't an easy thing to do, but he decided to trust her on this one, but only because it was something he had already deemed logical and not, definitely _not_, because she had told him so. That automatically led him to the question of what to do with the route they were currently taking. He much rather avoided getting caught up in a thunder-battle, but most of the other roads were highly dangerous. People generally avoided travelling over the Misty Mountains if they could, preferring to take the long way round if they really had to get to the other side of them. And they had good reason to do so, because these mountains were infested with goblins. But Gandalf had sworn that this pass was safe. He had explored it a few months before the quest had begun and he had found it completely goblin-free.

But Kate was saying something else. So really it all came down to who he trusted on this matter, Gandalf or Kate. If someone had asked that question a few weeks ago he would have said Gandalf without as much as a second thought, but that was before he had seen the proof that the book was not as much nonsense as he had always made it out to be. All in all it was rather frustrating.

_One time_, he promised himself. _I am going to trust her judgement one time. If she hasn't proven her worth then, that will be all the proof I need that she is indeed a fraud._

He marched over to the fire and seated himself opposite Kate. 'Are you sure about the goblins, Miss Andrews?'

The woman had not seen him coming and his presence visibly startled her. 'Can you please not do that?' she hissed at him. 'You scared the crap out of me.'

Thorin was wholly unimpressed. 'Then you should have paid better attention to your surroundings,' he countered. 'An orc will not be as considerate of your unawareness. Now, tell me, are you sure about those goblins, Miss Andrews?'

The advisor grimaced as he addressed her once again by her surname. He knew she hated it, but using her first name would lead several people to jump to conclusions about them and that he had more than enough of with the elves already.

'Both versions of the tale agree on the presence of the goblins,' she replied, shrugging. 'And when both versions agree, they tend to be right.'

'Gandalf is convinced the road we are to be taking is free of those wretched creatures,' Thorin said, wondering how she would react to that.

As it was, the woman was wholly unimpressed. 'Had you told me that a few months ago, I might have agreed,' she nodded. 'But apparently that was not really good enough, so they changed the location of their front gate.' She bit her lip. 'I know where that passage in the book is, if you would want to hear it. Or read it.'

There was a long silence, and a very tense one too. Thorin really wanted nothing more than to never again have to hold that book, but he had decided to trust her just this once. 'Read it,' he ordered her before he had the chance to change his mind again.

She looked at him, eyes wide in what appeared to be shock, but she was wise enough not to question it. 'If you say so,' she simply said, before taking up the book again. It took her a few seconds to find the part she was looking for and then she began to read in a hushed voice as to not wake the rest of the company: '_The wizard, to tell the truth, never minded explaining his cleverness more than once, so now he told Bilbo that both he and Elrond had been well aware of the presence of evil goblins in that part of the mountains. But their main gate used to come out on a different pass, one more easy to travel by, so that they often caught people benighted near their gates. Evidently people had given up going that way, and the goblins must have opened their new entrance at the top of the pass the dwarves had taken, quite recently, because it had been found quite safe up to now._'

Kate was quiet for a moment after that and Thorin was grateful for it. This had changed something between them, more than deciding to be allies had. Actions spoke louder than words and for all intents and purposes he had just shown that he did have some faith in that book and in her. They had gone from being not-quite-enemies to reluctant allies. Neither of them wanted to, but it was the lesser of two evils. And at any rate the company would be glad to have them not constantly arguing and biting each other's head off.

The question however remained. Could he really take this advice and act on it? He knew it would be only too easy to change the route. Gandalf would doubtlessly know where the main gate had previously been, so they could take that pass and sneak past the goblins unnoticed, whilst avoiding the stone giants at the same time. And doing so would hardly take up any extra time at all.

Realising that his mind was already made up, he nodded. 'Very well,' he told the advisor. 'We will do it your way.'

* * *

From Kate's notes: _I think the world has just turned upside down, or else I'm dreaming. Did Thorin I-don't-make-my-decisions-based-on-a-book-from-ano ther-world Oakenshield really just say 'We will do it your way' after hearing me read from the book? I'm definitely dreaming now._

* * *

**Next time: things do not quite go according to plan…**

**Until then, I'd love to hear your thoughts again and your suggestions are also very welcome (some of you really give me very good ideas), so please review?**


	17. Chapter 17 The Slippery Slope

**Chapter 17**

**The Slippery Slope**

_As it turned out, I had not been dreaming. Thorin had been dead serious about following my advice. He had taken me to see Gandalf the following morning, albeit in his own grumpy way, to discuss the possibilities of changing directions as to avoid an unfortunate run-in with goblins and stone giants._

_It would have been even better if the plan had actually worked. As it happened, Gandalf informed us that the pass the goblins' main gate had been on had recently been blocked by a stone avalanche. That was the reason travellers didn't go that way anymore and quite possibly the direct cause why the goblins had decided to make themselves a new front gate. _

'_You have got to be joking!' I recall saying to Gandalf. Thorin took it better than I did, if only a little. I knew that look he was sending the wizard and it would not have surprised me if our surroundings had frozen instantly because of it._

'_I am certainly not joking, Miss Andrews.' Gandalf was at least slightly ruffled because I had the guts to question his judgement. 'And if you think you know better, then you are quite welcome to go and see it for yourself.'_

_I was half tempted to say that I would most certainly do so, but then decided against it. I had had one argument too many with that wizard already and back then I really did not want to risk him getting so pissed off that he didn't want to send me back home again. _

_Thorin inquired about the other options, other paths that we could take, but of course there was no such path that Gandalf knew of. According to him the Misty Mountains were crawling with goblins and the path he had meant for us to take was still one of the less riskier roads to take, even if the goblins had indeed decided to open their new gate right beside the road. _

_I didn't like the sound of that at all. In the past weeks I had been wondering about my use to the company. So far my knowledge had done nothing to change the course of events. We had still ended up getting ourselves almost cooked by trolls, we had still ended up visiting Rivendell and the way things looked now we would also still end up facing giants and goblins. I could not say I was looking forward to that. At all. It was almost as if someone or something was working against me, preventing me from doing what Gandalf had brought me here to do._

_Thorin wasn't exactly pleased either, but he remained composed as he, to my surprise, turned to me. 'Would you recognise this front gate if you saw it?' he demanded._

_For a moment I could only stare at him. I knew what this was. It was a challenge, a chance to prove myself. It was what I had been hoping for, but now it came down to it, I found that it absolutely terrified me._

Get yourself together_, I told myself. _You're a grown woman, not some snivelling baby_. And so I looked at him and gave him a curt nod. 'Yes.'_

_He nodded his response. 'Then make sure we don't go anywhere near it.' He left me then, making me hope that I had not just made the biggest mistake of my life…_

**Thorin**

The weather took a turn for the worst three days after they had left that camping spot. The blue skies left and the clouds obscured the sun, pouring showers on the soon soaked company. It was only midday, but it was dark around them already, as if the night was already upon them.

Thorin had a bad feeling about this, even if he would rather die than admit to such a thing. But it was unnerving. The wind had grown stronger and stronger over the last few hours and he thought he heard thunder somewhere off in the distance, but it was hard to be sure. The wind and rain combined made so much noise that he had trouble making out any other sounds. He remembered Kate saying that they would get themselves caught up in a real thunder-battle. If anything were to happen, it may just happen now.

'Get off your ponies!' he shouted down the column. The animals were already having trouble keeping their balance on the narrow path, that now was slippery too because of the rain. He gave the good example himself, dismounting immediately. His mount was nervous. Thorin could see the white of its eyes and the ears were lying flat against its skull. And it had good reason to be uneasy too, Thorin knew. He knew better than to expect that all the ponies would make it out of this wretched place.

'We should find shelter!' someone shouted back at him. The dwarf king supposed it was Dwalin, who was just behind him. There was no chance he could hear anyone else father away.

Thorin happened to agree with that assessment of the situation. Their boots had better grip on the ground than the ponies' hooves, but even with that advantage he had a hard time remaining on his own two feet, especially since he had to restrain his own pony as well.

'Keep an eye out for caves!' he yelled back at the warrior.

A curt nod was all he caught of the response. The wind tore at his cloak as if it had a mind of its own, planning to take it away from him. The pony reared up, spooked by the gust of wind.

'Keep it down, you foolish beast,' Thorin muttered. Why had it seemed like a good idea to accept the offer of ponies again? They were travelling a narrow path now, with rock walls to their left and a ravine to their right. Thorin had looked down it precisely one time. After that he had decided not to look right again. He could not see the bottom of it and although he was no afraid of heights whatsoever, he knew there was a very real possibility of someone falling down into that abyss.

There was a loud thunderclap, drawing his attention towards the direction from where the noise had come. And he realised he had been wrong. It was no thunderstorm.

'Bless me, the legends are true!' Bofur exclaimed. He looked at the scene unfolding right before their eyes. 'Giants! Stone giants!' He seemed to be under the impression it was the most magnificent thing in the world.

Magnificent was not the word Thorin would have used for the stone giants. He would have called them impressive, huge and highly dangerous. He now understood why people tried to stay as far away as possible from them. Dwarves were smaller than Men and Elves, but next to these giants even the tallest Man would seem like a vulnerable hobbit in comparison. They were huge, made from the mountains itself and as tall as the peaks they had been born from. And right now they were in the middle of a fight. And the company was far too close to it.

'Move!' someone shouted. Thorin turned around to see the advisor look at him. She too was soaked, but she didn't seem affected by the bad weather. There was pure, unadulterated fear in her eyes. 'Move, you fools!'

Thorin may have decided to trust her on the journey over the mountains, but in this particular case he had to disagree with her. The battle seemed to be taking place in front of them and moving towards it would not be the wisest course of action. He genuinely understood her wish to get out of this place, but her fear made her blind to the danger that was lying ahead. But turning back wasn't an option either. The path was too narrow for them to be able to turn the ponies. The best thing they could hope for was a cave, if they could find one.

'We can't!' he shouted back at her. 'The battle is in front of us.'

He suspected that, had the situation been any less serious, she would have glared at him. 'I don't care where we're going as long as it's not here!' she bellowed.

'I understand that you want to get away from the giants…' he began. Right now was possibly not the time to tell her that she was behaving like a child, so he decided he could go a little easy on her.

'That's not the bloody point!' Kate shouted. 'I don't care where we're going, but we need to move _now_!' The last word was said with so much emphasis that Thorin began to believe he had somehow missed her point.

'What…?'

She didn't give him the chance to finish that question. 'We're on one!' she interjected. '_MOVE_!'

That spurred him into action. He had no doubt this was part of the knowledge that came from her world, but for once he didn't feel the need to question it. If she was right about this, the main priority now was to get away from this place, preferably before this thing decided it was time to get up and join the fight. If she was wrong, they would hopefully still be in one piece later to discuss the accuracy of her knowledge. Right now it was better to be safe than to be sorry.

'Move out!' he ordered. Again he gave the good example himself by dragging his unwilling pony with him. He forced himself to ignore the raging battle that was going on within the ravine. It would probably be safe to say that these giants' feet stood on the very bottom of it, the bottom Thorin could not even see from where he stood. It was just one black abyss he was staring at.

The company was moving too, the people closest to Kate looking more than a bit uneasy. They had no clue as to how Miss Andrews knew they were standing on one of these stone nightmares, but they weren't questioning it, just assuming that she had seen something they had missed out on.

The pony had spotted the real danger now as well. It reared up, refusing to come any closer to the rock-throwing giants. It was only a stupid animal of course, with no comprehension of the fact that it could be more dangerous to remain where they were than to move closer to the danger they could see.

'Come on!' he growled at it. He knew he should be talking to it in gentler tones, persuading rather than to command the animal to follow his lead, but he was too much on edge to calm himself enough to be able to calm his mount. He tried to pulled the reins, trying to get the pony to move again, but it was useless. It was too scared now. The dwarf even doubted any amount of gentle coaxing would persuade it now.

And they were wasting time, time they could not afford to lose now. The rest of the company was waiting behind him, unable to go further because of Thorin's struggles with his pony. Lingering here was life-threatening and he could not allow his companions to be in any more danger than they already were in.

Thorin took his dagger and cut loose a few bags with their supplies. The saddle was beautiful and possibly very expensive, but he would have no further use for it. Thorin regretted what he was about to do, but he had no other choice.

The pony reared up again and he saw his chance. Thorin was strong from working as a smith for years and years and one good shove made the pony lose balance completely. Its scream pierced his ears as it tumbled over the cliff. It would never have worked if the circumstances had been any different. But the animal had been on its hind legs only and the ground was already slippery. It was almost too easy to push the pony to its death.

'Move!' Thorin shouted at the company, waving them on. He was standing in a shallow niche, allowing the others to pass without having to venture too close to the ravine. Most of his companions obeyed his order with quiet efficiency. He could see they were uncomfortable, but none of them, not even the gentle Ori, showed their fear, if they even felt it. In that moment Thorin was proud to be their leader. It reminded him why he had decided to take on a full-grown dragon with so few a number in the first place.

Kate had a better control on her emotions now. She just followed behind Dwalin as fast as she could. The only indication that she was scared out of her depth was the pale colour of her cheeks and the haunted look in her eyes, but all in all she held herself well. Gandalf was almost – how was it even possible? – relaxed, guiding his slightly larger mount past Thorin with his usual calm. The only thing missing in the scene was the pipe and the trademark smokescreen.

No, it was the hobbit that appeared to be in real trouble. His pony was at least as panicked as Thorin's had been and the halfling lacked the strength to keep it under control. And he was frightened too. 'Come on, please!' he begged of the animal.

The animal of course was deaf to Mr Baggins's pleas. It rolled its eyes and literally screamed in fear. It was a horrible sound to hear, but right now the dwarf king was a tad bit more concerned for Dori and Glóin, who were still stuck behind the hobbit, waiting for Bilbo to move before they could continue on themselves.

And that pony was not planning on moving anytime soon. Thorin wasted no more time in cutting the ropes and belts that had attached the bags with their supplies to the saddle, tossing them at the hobbit with the snapped command to hold onto them. Ponies they could miss, but this journey would be very hard indeed without food and water.

'What are you doing?' Mr Baggins demanded. His fear was forgotten now as he looked at Thorin with a mixture of horror and confusion. He must not have seen what Thorin had done to his own mount and maybe that was for the better. He seriously doubted this gentle hobbit would approve of what he was about to do.

'Move on,' he commanded.

Bilbo conveniently ignored him. Kate's attitude must be catching. 'What are you doing to Daisy?' he yelled over the noise of the storm. Never mind the fact that he was standing on a wet, slippery ground, with the rain pouring down on him and the wind pushing and pulling at him, even while a thunder-battle was taking place practically next to him, the fate of his pony was far more important to him than any of that.

And good grief, he had even named the beast. That just made it worse, but they had absolutely not the time for sentimentalities. 'Clearing the road,' Thorin replied curtly. 'Step back.'

'Clearing the…?' Bilbo sputtered before he fell silent, staring at the dwarf king in sheer disbelief. 'No, you can't…!'

But Thorin was not listening. He pulled the reins from Bilbo's hand and just as the pony reared up again, he gave the beast a good shove. This one resisted more. It fought Thorin with all its might, screaming until it drowned out the noise made by the elements and the giants. Something scratched his arms. It was probably a safe bet to say that one of the pony's hooves was to blame for that.

But the dwarf didn't feel the pain. He had more important things on his mind than the wellbeing of one animal and any injuries he might have sustained. Behind them it seemed like the mountain itself was moving. Kate would appear to have been right, although now was clearly not the time to ponder that. Right now it had to be a priority to get out of here.

He threw up his arms in as threatening a gesture as he could manage, effectively scaring the animal again. It was soon on its hind legs again and Thorin used the opportunity this provided him with to get rid of the beast for once and for all. He wasn't sure which made more noise: the horse or the hobbit. Mr Baggins was positively shocked to see Thorin do something this barbaric to the pony he had clearly grown attached to.

The dwarf ignored the protests and manhandled the burglar into the right direction. The pace almost made the hobbit trip over his own overly large feet several times, but Thorin's death grip on his shoulder prevented him from either falling on his face or following his pony down the long way to the bottom of the ravine.

They caught up with the rest of the company seemingly hours later, even when Thorin knew it must be less than a minute after he had sent Bilbo's pony to its death. They were catching their breath at a small plateau that was relatively sheltered from the harsh weather.

They had all gathered there when a loud noise demanded all of their attention. The path they had been on just so short ago was moving. The mountain was coming alive before their very eyes. All they could do was watch in shock as the path they had travelled turned out to be part of the giant's legs. Kate had been right. They had been standing on one and had it not been for her timely warning, they might all be in mortal danger right now.

The giant had been vexed by one of his kind, who had thrown a big lump of rock as big as a house at what appeared to be his head. It was hard to make out, since there were no distinguishable features. It was only the shape that indicated that this even was a head. How these giants could see was entirely beyond Thorin. He just hoped that none of them had realised the company was there, lest they want to use them to throw around next.

'What were you doing?' The hobbit's furious voice interrupted his thoughts. Bilbo Baggins was soaked, his hair dripping and he was shivering with the cold, but he was still looking at Thorin as if he owed him an explanation. As far as Thorin was aware, and that was pretty far, he didn't.

But the question did trigger his anger. 'It was only a pony,' he snarled. 'Had I not cleared the road we might all have been dead by now.'

'Maybe we could have persuaded it…' Mr Baggins tried.

Thorin suddenly started to regret not shoving the hobbit down the slope along with the pony. So far they were equally useless and the pony at least had the added bonus of not being able to question his commands.

'There was no time,' Thorin replied brusquely. 'If we had tried to gently persuade it, you would have fallen to your death the moment that giant started to move. You would never have been able to get off in time.'

That had the hobbit stop and think for a while. First there was only righteous indignity and maybe even sadness, but then the understanding started to dawn on his face, only to be immediately be replaced by horror as he realised how close he had been to death. 'You… you're right,' he stammered. The halfling stared at the ravine as if he was seeing it for the first time. 'I am sorry. I did not mean to endanger us.' It sounded altogether subdued and horrified.

'I know,' Thorin snapped. He was still trying to determine whether this made things better or even worse. 'You are far too naïve to understand the world and all its cruelties.' It came out as a biting remark, the natural result of only having escaped death once again. Thorin had one too many of those experiences and to have one because of one hobbit's foolish attachment to an animal was just too much for his already tried nerves. He stared down at the supposed burglar. 'You should never have come,' he growled, meaning every word. 'You have no place amongst us.'

He turned on his heels, leaving the hobbit to think over his words. _And you can take that hint and run with it_. And he meant that literally. For all Thorin cared the hobbit could take his things and run back to his comfortable hobbit-hole as fast as his short legs could carry him. The dwarf would not risk Gandalf's wrath by sending Bilbo Baggins away directly, but he could make the halfling's life as difficult as possible, make him understand that he was not welcome here.

He had never felt so strongly about this before. The hobbit was a nuisance, who could not fight, who missed his soft pillow, books and six meals a day and had no realistic view of the world at all. But Thorin had tolerated him for the wizard's sake. He could not risk losing Gandalf's help because he had sent away his chosen burglar, no matter how ill-suited said burglar seemed to be for the job. Gandalf's aid was valuable and as long as the hobbit stayed more or less out of the way, the dwarf king was prepared to put up with him. And he could always ignore his presence when it suited him.

But that had been before this naïve halfling had endangered lives by fussing over a pony out of all things to worry about in the given circumstances. And Thorin Oakenshield was prepared to lay down his life for his homeland, his people and every single member of this company, but he was not willing to risk everything for the sake of one pony that was blocking the road while the very mountain they were standing on was coming alive, threatening to hurl them all to their deaths.

He joined Dwalin and Balin, who were trying to calm their own ponies after the ordeal they had just gone through. 'You all right?' he asked gruffly.

Dwalin gave a curt nod and Balin even managed a smile. 'We're still in one piece, laddie.' The elderly dwarf looked at the giant they had been standing on, observing it with wonder and a certain amount of admiration. That was all fine, Thorin supposed, since they were out of danger now.

'That was a close call,' came another voice.

Thorin turned around to face the company's advisor. She gave every impression of a soaked little kitten as she stood there. Her clothes, given to her by the elves, were far more elegant than any of the dwarves' clothing and clung to her slender figure in a very distracting kind of way. But right now was really not the time to comment on the advisor's dressing habits. And it was quite ridiculous to notice such a thing now anyway.

He gave a nod in respect. After all, she had recognised the danger before anyone else had. 'We still need to find shelter,' he growled. While he was grateful for her intervention, he was not quite ready yet to acknowledge it. 'We can't stay here. If we don't get blown off, or drowned, or struck by lightning, we shall be picked up by some giant and kicked sky-high for a football.' As it was, it surprised him the giants had not yet taken notice of them.

'Charming prospect,' Kate muttered.

Thorin fixed her with his sternest gaze. 'That gate, is it close?' he demanded. He would have asked it in private, if there was such a thing as private here, but he did not have that luxury now and so he ignored Balin and Dwalin's questioning glances.

Kate nodded. 'Yes.'

'And you are sure you can recognise it on sight alone?' How that was possible when she only had book descriptions to go on remained a mystery to the dwarf, but he decided not to question it now. He could always ask about it later.

She seemed to hesitate for half a second, but then she nodded again. 'Yes. If I can have a proper look at it.'

Thorin hated to have to make this decision, but he hated to get caught by goblins even more. 'Then you will come with us to investigate.'

**Kate**

The cave they entered was dark and chilly, but at least it was dry. And that was more than could be said for the rest of the company, who were still waiting outside on the plateau they had run to. Thorin had ordered them to stay there, while he took Kate and the sons of Fundin to search for a safer hide-out. The plateau was safe enough for now. It was out of sight of the giants and it provided the company with some shelter from wind and rain, but they couldn't stay there either or they'd catch their deaths.

This was the third cave they had gone to explore. There wasn't a shortage of them in these mountains, but the real difficulty was to find one that wasn't already occupied. The first one they had checked out had been far too small. Three dwarves could fit in and then maybe some of the bags as well, but then it was full. They had not lingered there long.

The second cave was large enough, but they had heard something growl at the far back of it and it had seemed like a wise idea to get out before that something, whatever it was, felt the need to come and check out the visitors.

This cave however seemed both abandoned and large enough for both the company and the ponies. Maybe it was precisely that fact that set Kate's alarm bells ringing. And there was something here that felt awfully familiar to her.

The others didn't seem to share the sentiment. 'Looks safe enough,' Dwalin remarked.

_But looks can be deceiving_, Kate thought. Maybe it was just intuition or maybe she was getting paranoid, but it didn't feel like a safe haven to her.

Thorin seemed to share her ideas. The dwarf king looked around him, eyes narrowed and his hands gripping his axe a little more tightly than was justified. It would seem she wasn't the only one to be spooked by the idea of goblins lurking around. 'Search to the back,' he ordered curtly. 'Caves in the mountain are seldom unoccupied.' He sent Balin to his left and Dwalin to his right, while he went to examine the rock wall they were facing, leaving Kate to stand by herself.

She wasn't really sure what she was supposed to be doing now. The cave looked safe enough to be sure, but it also looked vaguely familiar. But she wasn't sure this was the cave they should be avoiding like the plague and she had a feeling that Thorin was not going to make his decisions based on some undefined feeling she may have.

_Think!_ she ordered herself. _Standing here is not going to solve your problems now._ She had the chance now to prove herself and she'd be damned if she was not going to use it.

The book claimed that it was a crack in the wall that the goblins would come through. If that was the case, one of the others would surely find that one shortly. With Thorin being as paranoid about this as she was, he would not be satisfied with a quick search of the place.

But if the movie was right, the front gate would be a trap door in the ground and no one of course would ever think of that one. They had not thought of it in the movie and Kate seriously doubted they would in real life.

At least she had a purpose now. She knelt down in the very centre of the cave and started to move the earth and sand with her bare hands in order to see what was underneath it. At least the ground was dry and she had little difficulty removing the sand.

'What are you doing, lass?' Balin was the first to notice what she was doing. The elderly dwarf sent her a confused look.

'Checking something out,' she replied curtly.

That got her the attention of the other two. Dwalin stared at her as if he was sure she had lost her mind, but Thorin had a worried expression on his face. 'Do you think this is it?' he questioned, ignoring the confused brothers who were staring at the scene.

'Not sure,' Kate responded. 'But we're about to find out.'

'By digging?' Dwalin's voice was more than a little sceptical.

She was not sure how much she could say to him. Thorin would certainly not thank her for spilling the beans about her knowledge, especially since he had tried to keep it under wraps for so long. 'Just a feeling,' she said. 'Did you find anything?'

Dwalin was still suspicious, but at least he answered the question. 'Nothing.'

'Not even the smallest crack in the wall?' she urged. It would of course be all too easy to overlook those and right now she didn't feel like taking any risks. It had been scary enough with the stone giants already.

The suspicion was back for real now. 'Is there something you are not telling us?'

Kate sent a desperate look Thorin's way, almost begging him to intervene. If he wanted to keep the book from them, he should think of a way to do it. 'Do as she says,' he ordered the warrior. 'Examine everything. Balin, you as well.' He himself knelt down next to Kate. 'Do you think this could be it?' he demanded in a hushed voice.

'Possibly,' she nodded.

She could see him struggling with himself, not wanting to believe her, but at the same time not willing to risk not to and suffer the consequences of that decision just in case she was right. In the end the concern for his company won out. 'How will we be able to tell if this is the cave?'

'It's either a crack in the wall that will be able to open or a trap door hidden underneath the sand,' she reported in a whisper, taking care not to alert the others. 'The versions of the story disagree on that, so I'd thought it best to check it all out.'

The dwarf nodded. 'Let me help you.'

Kate couldn't help but stare at him for that offer. 'I think my ears must be deceiving me, because it can't be possible for the great Thorin Oakenshield to offer me his assistance.'

That got a laugh out of Balin and even Dwalin cracked something that might be labelled a smile.

The latter came walking over. 'There's no crack to be seen, lass, and I think it is time you started to explain what is going on here.' He knew he was being left in the dark about something and if his tone was anything to go by, he was not very pleased with that. Kate could not really blame him for that. She was behaving suspiciously and it would only be natural for him to question her actions. After all, it wasn't really normal for someone to start digging when searching for a dry shelter.

She took a deep breath, trying to think of an explanation that wasn't really the truth that he might buy, but Balin beat her to it. 'Is this about that book of yours?' he asked, not unfriendly.

The glance Thorin sent him was murderous, but the secret was out now anyway, so Kate nodded. 'Yes.'

'What book?' Dwalin demanded, now favouring his brother with his most suspicious look as well.

Kate looked at Thorin, wordlessly asking for permission to explain the situation. It would be no good to try and hide it now anyway. The dwarf king looked like he would rather eat dung than let her, but in the end he gave her a curt, barely visible nod.

'Do you remember me mentioning a book from my world that dealt with the events that are now happening?' she asked, looking up at the half bald dwarf. He was still standing, practically looming over her. 'That first night in Bag End?'

She could see him think, but in the end it would seem that the realisation started to dawn on him. 'Are you saying that was not a joke?' The tone told her that she could better say that it indeed had been a joke.

Of course they had no such luck. 'Unfortunately not,' she replied wryly. 'It is real and, as far as I can see, more or less reliable too.'

'A book from your world is telling us what we're going to do?' the question came out as a low growl.

Kate nodded. 'More or less anyway.' She caught Dwalin's angry look and added: 'Do you think I like that?' His behaviour, as if she could help it that she had been spirited here to be this company's advisor against her own wishes, made her blood start to boil, even when she was still practically freezing. 'Do you think I just asked Gandalf to please spirit me to this godforsaken place to start telling you lot what to do? Do you think I actually liked getting cooked by trolls, chased by wargs or lorded over by elves? Are you totally _insane_?' She didn't know exactly when she had ended up on her feet, but suddenly she found herself eye to eye with the intimidating dwarf. But in her anger he didn't seem all that intimidating anymore. It was as if her fury prevented her from realising that it would not be such a good idea to anger someone who had probably killed more people in his life than she would ever want to know. 'Now, if you are quite done disapproving of me, you could always do something useful and help out here. Because, for your information, there might just be a hidden trap door under all this sand and I'd like to find it before we all get abducted by goblins.'

She was panting after this rant and it occurred to her then that this possibly had not been quite the best thing to do after all. She wrapped her arms around herself, wanting to disappear into the ground right now. Never mind if it was infested with goblins, anything would be better than this compromising situation.

On the other hand this was exactly what she had wanted to say for ages, although she had to admit that the speech she had in mind would be directed against Thorin rather than Dwalin. Anyway, it was out now and she would not be able to take any of it back.

She could feel all the dwarves' eyes on her, so she knelt down and started digging again, pretending not to notice the looks that were thrown her way. At least Balin didn't make much of it. He followed her example and started helping her. Thorin seemed to take the ranting personally – as he should. The dwarf king was sending her his most intense stare, but Kate did her best to ignore him. Things were already far too awkward for her liking.

She was almost glad when her fingers felt something that was definitely not a piece of rock. It was cold and most definitely metal. 'Shit!' she cursed.

'What have you got there, lass?' Balin glanced over her shoulder when she removed the last earth and sand to reveal something that looked like a thick metal door underneath it.

'The front gate, I think.' Kate didn't like to be proven right, not in this case anyway and the idea that she was sitting on a door that might just open any time without her knowing was rather unnerving. 'Let's get out of here before it opens.'

Thorin, although less than happy, nodded and already started moving towards the exit. Dwalin stared at the metal and then at Kate, clearly not wanting to believe what she said. 'And then what do you propose?' he demanded. 'That we remain outside? Do you want to get tossed around by stone giants?'

Her anger had been disappearing, but Dwalin's altogether unreasonable question brought it back to the surface. 'Do _you_ fancy an involuntary visit to Goblin-town?' she countered. 'In that case you're more than welcome to stay and make yourself comfortable, while the rest of us go and find a cave that doesn't have the risk of caving in.'

She turned her back on him and marched out well ahead of the rest, trying to bite back tears of frustration. Was this what she had to look forward to: constantly fighting to prove herself, to prove that she was not just some kind of fraud? She felt that strongly with Dwalin. He had never been her biggest fan, but his words hurt nonetheless. Thorin was a bit more subtle about it, but only because he could not afford not to believe her. He needed to if he wanted this quest to be a success. There was however no doubt about his personal feelings on the matter. He hated that book of hers and he only put up with her because he could not afford not to. He had seen her knowledge proven several times now, so even if he was in no mood to believe any of it, he had to for the sake of the company. Kate as a person was still as unwelcome as she had ever been.

Kate didn't think she had felt so unwanted ever since her father had told her he did not have any wish for having contact with her. So when she stepped outside and the rain and wind started streaming her face again, she was grateful for it, because she would never let the company see her cry. Not ever. They weren't worth it.

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From Kate's notes: _I wish I was home. Thorin may only have told Bilbo that he had no place amongst them, but essentially the same holds true for me as well. What was Gandalf even thinking, bringing me here?_

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**So, Kate is having a break-down and Thorin is angry with Bilbo. I changed the events here slightly, because it always seemed a bit unfair of Thorin to get so angry with someone for falling off a cliff, because that could have happened to anyone. I hope it was believable what I did with it.**

**And I should really add a quick thank you for the guest reviews. I'm not saying it every chapter, I know, but the support is really, really appreciated.**

**Next time: conversations and arguments. In the meantime, please leave a review? I still love to hear your thoughts.**


	18. Chapter 18 Emergency

**Hello, dearest readers, here's the new chapter for you. I just wanted to say thanks for all those reviews (eleven!), they really mean a lot. And as for the question about Bilbo and the Ring that most of you asked, I can only say: Patience, precious!**

**For now, enjoy the chapter!**

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**Chapter 18**

**Emergency**

_We had to search two more caves before we found one that was suitable. The first one was so small the four of us hardly fit in there at all and the second seemed to have become a safe haven for goblins as well. It was empty when we went there, but there were several of their weapons scattered around the place and down the back we found bones. I had no desire to know who they had belonged to in life, but of course Dwalin had blurted out that the bones were human before I even got the chance to voice my unwillingness to know._

_We finally found a cave big enough for all of us some five minutes away from the plateau. It was quite a business getting everyone there, especially since the ponies were all rather jumpy. Óin's in fact was so jumpy that it jumped right of the cliff when the lightning hit somewhere close to it. Fortunately Óin himself wasn't actually on it, so all in all we were rather lucky._

_Nonetheless things were all rather glum and I found myself wishing for home. I had known I was not really welcome here before, but never had it been so obvious to me as it was then. So I retreated in a small corner while Gandalf entertained the group by turning the smoke rings the rest of the company was making into bright colours and the glum mood that had been dampening all of our spirits, started to lift considerably. The trials of being threatened by stone giants were all but forgotten already._

_Really, at that moment I felt like I was the only one who was not sharing in the celebrations…_

**Thorin**

The noise had gradually started to die down ever since Thorin had ordered that they should try and get some rest, because they would start again at first light. That was the plan at the very least. The dwarf king sincerely hoped that the storm would blow away overnight and make the pass way passable again. He didn't feel like staying here for longer than was strictly necessary. He knew they had avoided making camp on the goblins' doorstep, but that cave was only a few minutes' walk from this one and he could not feel at ease knowing those foul creatures so close.

He had retreated into a small niche of the cave, some distance away from the rest of the company. Here he had the space to think and smoke, trying to sort out his thoughts. They were not happy thoughts. The events of the day had made it clear to him, once again, that Kate held knowledge that was useful to them. It didn't do much to improve his mood that Balin also had been right. He had trusted Kate to know what was about to happen and she had not let him down. If not for her intervention they would either all be dead on the bottom of the ravine or taken prisoner by goblins. Thorin had given her the opportunity to use her knowledge and now that he had, she had been able to use it.

That thought led almost automatically to the next one. If she could indeed use her knowledge now, might she also be able to use it to their advantage, to avoid the battle she had told them was coming? To prevent the deaths of several of his companions? But that would mean that she would have to have some measure of influence on his decisions and he was not quite sure yet he was ready to take such a step.

The company advisor was curled up against a rock wall in a nearby corner. Thorin didn't think she was asleep. Her posture was too rigid for that. She had wrapped her arms around her knees, holding them as if she would fall apart if she as much as loosened her grip. Her head was placed upon her knees, the damp red curls obscuring her face. She didn't move and if Thorin had not seen her shoulders move with her breathing, he might have thought her dead.

For once he thought he had some idea of what was ailing her. Dwalin's disbelief, his hostility, had hurt her deeply. She had tried to hide it, but Thorin was not blind. He had noticed the hurt, the pain underneath the angry spark in her eyes. For a moment he had not seen a young, confident woman with a temper, but a frightened child. For all her if-you-won't-believe-me-that's-your-problem-not-mi ne talk, she had reacted rather hurt.

Maybe he should have told Dwalin that this was taking it a bit too far, but the shock of finding the door Kate had spoken of had temporarily rendered him speechless. He had only been able to listen with half an ear to the argument unfolding under his very nose as he had looked down on the trap door that had been hidden underneath the sand. It was goblin-made beyond the shadow of a doubt. He had run into them more times than he cared to remember and was therefore quite familiar with their work and that door had written goblins all over it.

He was snapped out of his musings by someone passing him, sitting down next to Kate.

'Bilbo,' she acknowledged, lifting her head to look at the burglar.

'Miss Andrews,' Bilbo greeted. The hobbit wrapped his hands around his knees as well, ending up in a posture that was very much like Kate's.

'It's Kate,' she corrected him wearily. 'I hear Thorin calling me by my surname all the time already and I so happen to like my first better.'

'Kate then.' The halfling sounded a bit hesitant about it.

The advisor managed a smile, even when it didn't reach her eyes. It was only when Thorin saw her face that he realised that she had probably been crying. They had left a few torches burning and there wasn't much light in the cave, but her eyes were swollen and red, that much he could see.

'Can't sleep either?' she asked.

The hobbit gave her a wry smile in reply. 'I was just doing some thinking.'

Kate nodded her understanding. 'About what Thorin said to you earlier?'

Mr Baggins looked at her in surprise. 'You heard that?'

That earned him a snort. 'It was a bit hard to miss, really. He was practically shouting it. I'm more or less surprised the giants didn't hear him actually.'

Thorin was fairly sure that neither of them realised that they weren't the only ones awake in the cave. Maybe he should give them some clue as to him being awake, because he was also fairly sure that this was a conversation not meant for his ears. This was private. The hobbit may even have sought her out when everyone was already asleep especially for this purpose.

But Thorin had always been curious as a lad and growing up hadn't cured him of that. He had learned to control it, but that did not mean he could not give in to it every now and then. And these two were bound to discuss him and he could not pretend, not even to himself, that he did not want to know what they were about to say.

Or rather, he was interested in what Kate had to say. The hobbit's opinion did not matter to him. What he had told Mr Baggins that afternoon on the plateau still held true: the halfling had no place amongst them and the sooner he realised that for himself, the better it would be. The company would be well rid of him. Thorin for one couldn't wait to see the back of him.

Kate was another matter entirely. Whilst Thorin was still none too happy with her presence in the company, she had her uses. Strangely enough that blasted book of hers had helped saving them and it had been Kate's insistence that had helped them get away from the danger in the nick of time. He owed her for that, if nothing else. And he even had to admit that Dwalin had treated her unfairly. To see her this miserable didn't sit well with him, especially since it had been well within his power to do something about it.

'He was right, though,' Bilbo muttered. 'I don't even know what I am doing here.'

'Yes, you do,' Kate told him forcefully. 'You're the burglar. The company needs you. You're meant to be here.'

Thorin had a feeling there was more to that than the hobbit could possibly know. To Thorin it meant that Kate thought that it was essential that Mr Baggins accompanied the quest. For the first time ever he wished he knew what was actually in that book, what had made Kate feel so strongly about this. For the first time ever he found he wanted to know what she knew. That shocked him for only a moment. Had he really just wished for her knowledge? He must be losing it.

'I'm not a burglar,' Bilbo pointed out.

Thorin could see Kate smile wryly. 'And for what it's worth, I'm not much of an advisor either. But we're here now. We might as well make the best of it.'

Her optimism, if that was what it could be called, was surprising. Thorin would not have thought she would already have resigned herself to actually being with them. For all he knew she was still desperate to return home and the only thing preventing her from going back was that meddlesome excuse for a wizard.

'But it's not the same for you, though, is it?' Bilbo questioned. There was a rather sharp edge to his voice. 'You don't have a choice. You've got nothing to return to, do you? I do. Thorin said I should never have come here and he was right.'

'Gandalf did have his reasons for choosing you,' Kate argued. 'Mind you, I'm not too pleased with him either, but I think his intentions are good.'

Thorin could only just stop himself from snorting at that claim. As far as he was aware Miss Andrews hated the wizard with a passion for bringing her to Middle Earth. And she would probably be right to be so too. So why would she out of all people defend Gandalf's actions? She should side with Bilbo, since they were both victims of his plotting.

For once Bilbo Baggins seemed to agree with him. 'Why do you defend his actions, Kate? You don't want to be here either. Why are you making excuses for him?'

Kate shrugged, not meeting the hobbit's eyes. 'I wish I knew.'

But that was a lie and Thorin knew it. He had heard enough liars in his lifetime and Kate Andrews was definitely not speaking the truth. She had reasons to act as she did. And she also did not plan on sharing any of those with the halfling sitting next to her. It was almost as if she was trying to give the hobbit a reason to stay, the dwarf reflected. Would his presence truly be that necessary for the success of the quest? He found that very hard to believe.

'Maybe,' Kate spoke thoughtfully. 'Maybe I just want to believe that I am here for a reason. Maybe I need that or else I'll lose my mind.' There was such loneliness, such desperation in her voice as Thorin had never heard before. He had seen it, a little of it, that night at Bag End, when she had been begging Gandalf with tears in her eyes to send her back to her home. But it was ten times stronger now. This was someone who had nowhere to go to, stuck in a situation she had never believed she would find herself in.

And Thorin could relate to that. He knew exactly what that felt like. He had felt it too, after Erebor was taken, after the battle of Azanulbizar when his entire family had been torn apart in one single day. Grandfather, father and brother all gone in the span of just a few hours, leaving him alone in the world and with the responsibility of an entire people on his shoulders.

'I'm going back to Rivendell,' the hobbit suddenly announced after a lengthy silence. 'Thorin said I should never have come and I agree. I don't know what I was thinking, but I should never have run out of my door. You should come with me.'

There was another silence after that announcement. Thorin could not say that it was a surprise that Mr Baggins had made this decision, but he could say he was glad of it. His departure would rid him of the greatest burden he had encountered in a long time. He was however not sure about the notion of Miss Andrews leaving with him. Slowly, and quite against his will, he had to admit that she could be useful and to have her take her leave now would rob them all of a chance to change certain events.

That thought stopped him dead in his tracks. Since when did he admit that her knowledge was anything even approaching useful? But then he recalled the timely warning on the cliff and her warning not to camp in the cave with the goblins' front gate and he knew exactly since when he was thinking like this. Mind you, it didn't mean that he suddenly liked it, but it did mean that he really had no choice left but to accept her presence. Lately it would seem he didn't have a choice in anything at all.

'And waste my chance of ever getting home again?' Kate countered. 'I've got a deal with Gandalf now. Who says he's to send me back if I don't hold up my end of the bargain?' She shook her head. 'No, thanks. I appreciate the offer, but no.'

This really was all about getting home, wasn't it? For all of them really. They were here and every single one of the company wanted to get home. Mr Baggins wanted to go back to his comfortable hobbit-hole, his men wanted a home that was currently inhabited by a dragon and Kate wanted to get back to wherever her home was in that world of hers. Gandalf was the only one not wanting to go home. Thorin wasn't even sure the wizard had one. He was only here because he deemed the dragon a threat he wanted to eliminate. In that particular way Thorin knew he was being used by the old man, but he did not mind that, not really. Eventually they wanted the same thing: to see that monster killed and Erebor restored as a strong kingdom. If that meant he had to overlook some ulterior motives in exchange for Gandalf's help, then that was what he would do.

'You could live with me in the Shire,' Bilbo spoke up, sounding rather enthusiastic about his own idea. 'You'd love it there. You don't need to risk your life here. They don't even like you. Why would you stay with them when it's only too clear they want you gone?'

The advisor sighed. 'Because I already have a home and I want to see it again. And I want to get back to my family and friends as well. Really, I know your intentions are good, but I can't accept.'

Bilbo thought about that for a moment, but then he nodded. 'I understand,' he said.

Kate favoured him with half a smile. 'Get some sleep, Bilbo. Look at it fresh in the morning. We're not doing each other any good right now.' Her voice sounded exhausted.

The hobbit got up, bade her a good night and walked back to his bedroll. Kate however made no move to get any sleep. She kept sitting in the same posture she had been sitting in since Thorin had been watching her. Maybe he should go and talk to her.

And maybe he should not. After all, he could not really go and put his image at risk only to comfort a woman who was feeling a bit under the weather. He wasn't even sure how he regarded her these days. But then, she was his ally right now. He supposed that meant he should at least pretend to be interested.

As it happened, he didn't need to make that decision. Kate made it for him. 'I know you're awake,' came her voice.

He got up and moved a little closer as to not wake the others. 'You should be asleep,' he told her sternly. 'We'll leave at first light and you cannot afford to be sleepy on these narrow paths.'

'Hello pot, this is kettle speaking,' was the sarcastic reply. 'You're black too, by the way. If I promise not to fall asleep on you, could you please go and mind your own business, preferably somewhere else?'

She was hurting and lashing out. Thorin occasionally had been guilty of doing as well. He understood why she did it, even if he didn't like it. 'Why did you not take up the hobbit's offer?' he questioned.

Miss Andrews sent him a mocking glance. 'So good to hear that private conversations remain private around here. Anyway, you already heard, so why bother asking? You already know and believe me, it's not because I am so fond of your bloody company.'

'Dwalin was out of line,' Thorin felt obliged to say. 'He did not have the right to speak to you in that way.' And he hadn't. All dwarves were brought up to treasure women above all else, to treat them with respect. Dwalin had most definitely not been doing that.

Her eyebrows were raised. 'So now you're what? A sodding social worker?' she inquired. 'You should stick to being king, because this really doesn't suit you.' The woman was really trying not to answer his questions by sending verbal attacks his way. Fortunately for the dwarf king he had a mental armour that was stronger than the doors of Erebor. He felt he could ignore it.

'Then go and get some sleep,' he told her. 'Instead of wallowing here in self-pity.'

Now that riled her, as he had suspected it would. 'I _beg_ your pardon?' she hissed, eyes blazing in fury. 'How I feel is none of your concern, thank you very much. And forgive me if I don't take the words of a man who keeps brooding over some great piece of rock seriously!' She at least had the good sense to keep her voice down, but it was the tone that really mattered here.

And despite his mental armour, he could feel his own anger rise. 'How dare you?' he growled. 'How dare you compare my concerns with your petty complaints?'

The next thing he knew was a hand slapped against his cheek and Kate's angry face glaring at him. The slap hardly hurt – her human strength, or rather lack of it, was downright pathetic – but it was the action itself that counted and Thorin Oakenshield was not used to being treated like that, by no one. His reflexes kicked in before he even thought about it, gripping both her hands before she could strike again, as she was so clearly planning.

'I don't think so,' he told her in his most commanding voice.

'Let go off me!' She struggled, but to no avail. Thorin hardly felt her efforts. 'Let go off me and bother somebody else!' To his surprise there were tears in her eyes again and that was unexpected. She was angry, right, not sad?

'Do you promise not to hit me again?' he asked warily.

'Yes, yes, now let me go!' She still tried to wriggle her way out of his grasp.

It was only then that the dwarf realised that her hands were all but ice-cubes against his skin. 'Your hands are cold,' he remarked.

'Very well spotted, Einstein,' she sneered. 'And if you are quite done stating the obvious, could you just keep yours to yourself?'

But he ignored her. She should be used to that by now. Instead of letting her go he took the time to really look at her and it didn't take him long to realise that her clothing was far too thin for this temperature. 'Where is your coat?' he demanded.

'Over there,' she beckoned with her head, since she still did not have the use of her hands. 'Drying. Not that it is any of your concern, Mr Oakenshield.'

'It is when one of the members of my company catches her death because she was poorly clothed,' Thorin countered easily. The last thing they could use was a sick advisor. Travelling would be slower and far more difficult if she could hardly remain seated on her pony because she was feverish.

'I am not poorly clothed, you oaf!' she hissed.

Thorin ignored that. He released her hands and took off his coat, that had long since dried.

Kate eyed that suspiciously. '_What_ are you doing?'

'Making sure your stubbornness doesn't get you killed,' the dwarf replied, offering her the coat. 'Put that on.'

She pretended not to see the coat. 'That's rich!' she fumed. 'From someone who is more stubborn than the rest of the world population put together.'

'It was an order, Miss Andrews,' he reminded her. 'If you get sick, you will delay our journey and I cannot allow that to happen. So you have a choice to either put on the coat yourself or have me do it for you.' He had been using this tone occasionally when Fíli and Kíli were still young and had gotten it into their heads that they were in no mood to obey. Practically it was the same here. Kate was very much behaving like a stubborn toddler.

'I don't think so!' she bristled, eyeing the piece of clothing as if it contained some kind of contagious disease. 'I am fine, thank you very much. And now get the hell out of here!' Her voice was rising, but fortunately none of the others woke.

Why was he even having this discussion with her? He should just leave her to her own devices and let her get ill, since that was what she so obviously desired. But he knew he would regret such a decision as soon as she started to feel unwell and started delaying the quest and so he decided against it. She was acting like a child, so he would have to treat her like one. He simply wrapped the coat around her, ignoring her feeble attempts at getting away from him and then drew her against his chest.

'Stop your struggles, you headstrong woman!' he snapped at her.

'As soon as you let go of me,' she countered, trying to get away, but he had her properly sandwiched between his arms and chest. She could not move unless he allowed her to. And while she may be perfectly content to freeze to death, he was not going to be accommodating on that account. He had a feeling Gandalf would blast him to death if he allowed such a thing to happen.

'You're going to be the death of me one day,' he muttered. 'Will you stay where you are if I let you go?' He wasn't really in favour of this arrangement himself, but she needed to get warmed up and body heat would be the quickest way. And he would not ask this of anyone else. Not because he didn't trust them, but just because it would be strange to ask of someone else what he was perfectly capable of doing himself.

Kate sent him a glare, but her body betrayed her. She was shivering, he felt now, and her body instinctively got closer to the source of warmth. He would have smirked if he had believed he could have done so safely. As it was, she would probably hit him again or move away into the cold. Or she would just do both those things.

If the look in her eyes was anything to go by, she was fully aware of the situation. She sighed deeply and then just laid her head on his chest, trying to make herself comfortable. 'Just don't get any ideas,' she warned him. 'And keep your hands to yourself or I'll make personally sure you'll be singing soprano for the rest of your life.'

It took him all he had not to laugh out loud at that threat. He did not harbour such thoughts at all and he was sure Kate knew that too. And the very notion of her hurting him that badly was just laughable. She would never be able to. This was just her trying to show her displeasure with the situation, pretending not to give in too easily. For someone who accused him of being stubborn, she had a large amount of that trait herself.

The advisor soon started to doze off. It was clear she did not want to, but she was more or less comfortable now and she was exhausted and she lost the fight against the sleep. If only the dwarf king could sleep that easily. He looked down at Kate, her face relaxed in slumber, peaceful even without all the frowns and hard expressions that she had become known for in the company. He got a glimpse now of the carefree woman in the painting.

_You're sleepy_, his brain told him. _You're getting soft_.

He huffed at his own mental voice, but supposed it was right. So he let his head lean against the wall and closed his eyes to get some much needed sleep. The cave was silent save for Bombur's snoring and it was long past midnight. Best get some hours rest while he had the chance.

It felt like he had only closed his eyes for some minutes – but some instinct told him it had been longer – when a noise dragged him back into consciousness again. For a moment he kept his eyes closed, trying to ignore it. But the noise didn't cease and after a few seconds it came to him that a noise of stone getting dragged over another stone had really no business here in this cave.

He was fully awake the moment that realisation got through to his no longer sleepy brain. Something was off here. He opened his eyes and searched the cave for any signs of trouble.

He found it all too soon. A crack had opened in the far wall of the cave, revealing a dark black hole behind it. Thorin was one hundred percent sure that this crack and opening had not been there when he had gone to sleep. _It's either a crack in the wall that will be able to open or a trap door hidden underneath the sand_, Kate had said.

His mind was easily capable of filling in the blanks. Goblins!

**Kate**

Kate knew that she was dreaming. She was fairly certain of that, because when she opened her eyes she was sitting on the grass in her mother's back garden with Jacko next to her, telling her enthusiastically about how wonderful his girlfriend Jane was. She let herself lie back and folded her hands under her head, simply enjoying the simplicity of the situation. It had been long since she had felt so at ease, so at home and she just wished the situation could last. Of course it couldn't and she knew that she would all too soon open her eyes to the dim light of the chilly cave. Best enjoy it while she could.

Jacko laughed. 'Well, enough about me and Jane,' he said, looking down at her with a teasing grin. 'Let's talk about you.'

'What's there to tell?' she wondered. 'I don't have a boyfriend to get all excited about anymore. Not since I dumped Marc at least.'

Jacko frowned in confusion. 'I thought you and Thorin were together?'

Now that got her attention and she sat up in one sudden movement. 'What? _No_! What on earth gave you that idea?' She had no idea how her own personal pain in the arse had found his way into this dream, but she certainly did not like it at all.

Her twin sent her a mocking grin in reply. 'Oh, come on, Katie. The two of you were all over each other last I saw you.'

That made her almost choke on her own tongue. '_What_?' she snarled. 'Me and Thorin? Are you completely insane, Jacko? I have no idea what you're even talking about. You don't even know him!'

She used to have absurd dreams as a child, but she had long since grown out of them. These days she did not even remember what she dreamed when she woke again. She found herself wishing she would not remember this either.

'You must be getting a little forgetful, sis,' Jacko said, shaking his head. 'He was over here yesterday. Quite a nice guy actually, although he's quite a bit older than you, isn't he?'

She didn't know why, but suddenly she found herself wishing the ground would open and swallow her up before this could get any more embarrassing. She had no idea how it was even possible for her to dream something like this, but she was quite certain that she wanted to wake up. As in right now.

'I didn't ask you to involve yourself in my love life, you know,' she snapped at Jacko. Not that there was much of a love life going on at the moment, but this dream version of her brother seemed to have deluded himself into thinking there was.

Jacko ignored her. 'Oh, look. He's here now. Hey, Thorin, over here!' He waved at someone behind Kate.

She looked over her shoulder and almost choked all over again when she saw that it was indeed the grumpy dwarf king that walked, no, majestically strutted, into the garden. He for some reason was still wearing all his armour and the fur-lined coat, despite the fact that it was so hot outside that even Kate in her summer dress felt criminally overheated. His expression was as stern as it ever was. Nice guy, Jacko had said? He must be either blind or deaf, or both.

'What are you doing here?' she moaned. 'Get out of my dream. I have to put up with you in daily life already. Must you now invade my dreams as well?'

Thorin, very predictably, ignored her. He knelt down and grabbed her shoulders, gently shaking them. 'Wake up, Kate,' he told her urgently.

Now that caused her to frown. 'What on earth has happened to Miss Andrews?' So far he had only called her Kate when he had practically been forced to do so in Rivendell. To say it out of his own free will was unheard of.

He groaned in frustration. 'We do not have the time for this. There are goblins. You need to wake up and you need to wake up _now_.'

This kept getting more ridiculous by the second. She glanced around her and noticed to her surprise that Jacko had gone. And she was no longer in the garden either. And she was not in her summer dress anymore. Instead she looked at the fur that now covered her, looking remarkably like…

Oh _shit_! This was not a dream anymore, was it? This was real and she was wide awake, in the very middle of a cave filled with dwarves who were all waking up, grabbing their weapons. Her sleepy brain did not understand why they would be grabbing their weapons. There were no enemies here, were there?

And then the last thing Thorin had said to her registered. Goblins. There were goblins here. But that was not possible. They had avoided the goblins. She had taken care of that, she remembered that. So they could not possibly be here.

The goblins didn't seem to agree with her logic. She heard screeching and turned on her heels, causing Thorin – when had he taken her arms anyway? – to let go. And then she found herself staring at the most disgusting creatures she had ever laid eyes on. The movie had given her an idea of what to expect, but it all felt like a horrible understatement now. But never mind their ugliness now, it were their weapons and their numbers that concerned her now.

Dozens of goblins came pouring out of a crack in the wall that most certainly had not been there before. Of this she was certain. And she had hardly any time to think about this at all. If she had the good fortune to make it out alive, that was something she could later think about. Right now it would be a priority to get out of here as fast as she possibly could.

'Hold your ground!' Thorin bellowed at the company, whilst roughly shoving Kate behind him in the same go. 'Close ranks!'

Kate backed away. She still had trouble processing what was even happening here, utterly confused as to how it was even possible that this was happening in the first place. Thorin's shove sent her falling down, tripping over her own feet. She came down next to her backpack and the sword.

All it took was one moment to make a decision. She was not going to go down without a fight. She preferred to do her fighting with words, but something told her that a tongue-lashing might not do the trick here. And Dwalin had said that she was improving somewhat with her sword. She'd be damned if she was not going to use it.

Kate's hands were trembling as she took it and got to her feet again. The others were already taking on their attackers. Dwalin didn't seem to have a problem with taking on multiple goblins at a time and Thorin wielded his axe with a deadly efficiency that made Kate glad that they were on the same side for most of the time. Kíli took turns shooting and knocking goblins down with his bow while his brother was trying to be better than Dwalin by trying to tackle five goblins at once.

It would have gone well for them had those first goblins to enter the cave been the only ones. But their numbers kept increasing and deep down she knew that it was hopeless. The panic started to rise and would almost effectively reduce her to a snivelling wreck, incapable of doing anything even remotely useful. Now she already doubted her usefulness in a fight – as did the rest of the company – but if she allowed herself to dwell on that, she was bound to be just as useless as everyone already thought she was. And she was quite certain that would not be helpful at all.

'Get back!' Thorin ordered her. 'Stay out of this.'

Somehow, when she had been trying to decide what to do, he had come closer, driven back by the number of goblins that was threatening to overtake them rapidly. This inevitably meant that she was getting closer to the fight as well. Oh, she sure didn't like the sound of that!

But the commanding tone triggered a reaction from her nonetheless. It must be a law of nature. Kate didn't have any other explanation for the snappy response that came out of her mouth. 'Well, I am trying!' she growled at him. 'You should start working on your abilities to keep the fight away from me in the first place before you start telling me to stay away from it!'

She could see the dwarf was dying to reply to that, but another opponent claimed his attention. The same was true for Kate. All of a sudden she found herself opposite a smirking goblin with one very sharp looking blade in his hands. Up close they were even uglier than from a small distance. This one was missing several teeth and his skin looked like someone had accidentally added bits of flesh were none should have existed. And his smell would be enough to make anyone run away as fast as their legs could carry them, begging for fresh air. As far as Kate was aware, neither book nor movie had ever made mention of the smell of unwashed goblin – not that she believed there was such a thing as a washed goblin.

But now was hardly the time to carry out a study about the lack of washing habits among goblins. Right now, the intentions of this one were crystal clear. The sword pointed at her was a dead giveaway and unless she started doing something now, she was bound to end up rather dead herself.

It must be some kind of instinct to save her own skin that caused her to point her blade at the goblin's chest before she even remembered that she was actually holding the blade in the first place. 'Stay back!' she warned him.

The fact that she was neither dwarf nor male seemed to have caught the goblin off guard, which was probably the only reason why he had not yet run her through. 'A girl?' His voice sent shivers down Kate's spine and not in a good way.

'Stay back!' she repeated nervously, clenching her sword with both hands. All Dwalin's lessons seemed to have vanished into thin air and the only thing she could stupidly remember about sword fighting was something about sticking them with the pointy end, something she was quite sure the warrior had never told her. It must be something from her own world, even if she could not recall now where she had heard the phrase.

The goblin of course was not in the least impressed with that. He favoured her with another smirk that made her want to run and hide and then he launched himself forward. That very same moment Kate's arms seemed to develop a will of their own. They made a stabbing movement that impaled the goblin on the blade.

For a moment it was hard to make out who was more surprised that she had actually managed to land a blow: Kate or the goblin. Then the goblin slumped down and it was quite certain that Kate was the only one left of them to feel surprised. The goblin sure as hell didn't feel anything anymore, given the fact that he was conveniently dead.

Her victory was short-lived however. She had only just wrenched her blade free again when something hit her on the back of the head and she lost her balance, stumbling back and tripping over something that caused her to fall against what felt like the rocks.

'Ouch!' she exclaimed.

'Kate!' someone yelled. Her vision was strangely blurred and her reactions were sloppy too, but she thought it might be Dori. He still had not given up on his fussing habits, it would seem.

For a brief moment she wondered why he had sounded so panicked, but then the question answered itself. There were hands grabbing, pulling at her. She tried to struggle, but it was just as much use as when she had been trying to fight Thorin off. There were far too many goblins now and although she had the satisfaction of seeing one of them howl in pain when she managed to kick him in his private parts, in the long run it made no difference at all.

Her vision had cleared now, the dizziness caused by the blow to the head wearing off, and Kate could see that she was not the only one getting pushed and pulled toward that blasted crack in the wall. Her companions were restrained as well, with the sole exception of the wizard. Where the hell was Gandalf anyway? Should he not be here to help them?

But the wizard's whereabouts were the very least of all of their worries when the goblins forced them through that crack. It closed behind them with a thud and they were effectively trapped.

* * *

From Thorin's notes: _How in Durin's name is this even possible? The woman swore we had avoided the goblins!_

* * *

**Yes, Gaia-drea, you were very right not to trust me. Next time there will be more goblins. In the meantime, I still love to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Anyone willing to think up an explanation for the goblins' presence?  
**


	19. Chapter 19 Health and Safety

**Hello everyone, here's the new chapter, in which the Riddle of the Door will be answered. I really loved to read all your guesses and some of you were pretty close. And thanks again for all the reviews. Your support and opinions mean the world.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**Health and Safety**

_Quite frankly I had no clue as to what was even happening to us when we were forced down, deeper all the time. Stupidly the only thing that kept gnawing away at me was the absurdity of the situation. How was it even possible that we were now being snatched book-style when we had only just avoided getting abducted movie-style? It was too absurd to even think about._

_But the reason behind this abduction was of course the very least of my worries. It was utterly dark in these tunnels. I could not even see the hands that were grasping and pinching me and somehow that made the experience all the more terrifying. Someone could stab me and I could die and no one would ever find me, because it was so dark. Now that realisation wasn't helpful at all._

_But no one felt the need to stab me, yet, and after what felt like hours there appeared a light at the end of the tunnel…_

**Kate**

Kate thought she was in a state of shock. That was the only reason why she wasn't panicking and screaming for help. There was a good chance the blow to the head had something to do with that as well. Her head was throbbing and she was quite sure her steps were a little unbalanced too. But it was hard to be sure. The goblins didn't give her opportunity to stumble. Their firm grip on her arms was surely going to bruise. That was, if she lived long enough for the bruises to start forming.

Now that snapped her out of her shock. She was in danger here, mortal danger quite possibly. Her brain was trying to tell her that there was absolutely no chance of getting killed, since no one in either book or movie died in Goblin-town, but there was also a part of her brain that knew that the story as she knew it not always had it right. She had only to remember the trolls to know that. And, come to think of it, this was not supposed to happen either. They had avoided the front gate. They had found it and searched out another cave for shelter. And even that one had, at Thorin's insistence, been thoroughly searched.

But her denial was not going to be of any use now, because they were here and that was the situation they needed to deal with. Not that there was much to deal with now. The goblins were too many and too strong. Kate could hear the other members of the company swear and struggle, but to no avail. She struggled herself, but only because she could not stand to be dragged down here, knowing that she had not at least tried to do something to resist. The goblins only seemed to think it funny.

And the utter darkness around her did not help her calm down, at all. How anyone could see where they were going here was entirely beyond her. All she could hear was the sound of their own footsteps, the curses and struggles of her companions and the cruel laughter of the goblins. It made her want to scream in pure terror.

She did not scream, but she came close. Somewhere off in the distance she could see the faint glow of light. For a moment she was almost sure that she had imagined it, a result of her desperate wish for light, but as they moved closer towards it, she could see that it was real. There really was a light at the end of the tunnel.

This end of the tunnel did not yet prove to be the end of the journey, nor did it do anything to steady Kate's nerves. Instead of tunnels they were now forced to walk over wooden contraptions and bridges that gave every impression of being in disrepair for over years. She had the frightening thought that they would break as soon as one as much as jumped on them, sending the unfortunate persons on it flying to their death on the hard rocks many metres below them. She could see the dark abyss through the cracks in the woods and it made her want to scream in fear. Kate had never been one to be afraid of heights. True, back at the ravine she had not exactly been comfortable, but she had managed. This, this was another matter entirely.

This nightmare too seemed to last for an eternity, but eventually the journey did end. There was another opening in the rock at the end of one particularly weak looking wooden bridge and the goblins drove them towards it, cackling even louder than they already were when they forced their prisoners into what looked like a large cave, lit up with the light of dozens of torches. The smell of the place made Kate want to throw up where she stood and it was so filthy that she was quite sure this place had not been tidied up in the last few hundred years, but it was light and that in itself was a relief, even though it wasn't much.

The goblins obviously had some sort of plan. They forced their prisoners onwards to what appeared to be a large cage in the corner of the cave. She tried to resist getting locked up there, because she was pretty sure that she could never ever escape from it once she was in there, but she was only one and the goblins outnumbered her ten to one. It really wasn't much of a contest.

The other members of the company struggled as well, but in the end they too were all shoved in, the door was shut and the lock was turned. Bombur, the last one to join them, was pushed in with so much force that he tripped over his own feet and fell over, right on top of the company advisor.

'Ouch!' Kate exclaimed. 'Get off me!' Bombur was a kind and spontaneous fellow, but the fact remained that he was too fat for his own good. And right now his body weight was forcing the air from Kate's lungs, making it hard for her to breathe.

Bombur tried to comply with that request, but it was clearly not that easy for him, because he tripped again, effectively pinning Kate to the ground once more just as she was about to get to her feet. The goblins, who could all enjoy the show from the other side of the bars, laughed out loud.

'What are you looking at?' someone demanded of them in an angry growl. 'Go and mind your own business.' The next moment the weight was lifted off Kate. 'On your feet.'

Kate was grateful to them, whoever they were and tried to stand up again. She was still a little dizzy and she almost lost her balance again, which would have sent her face first to the floor had it not been for the hand that suddenly came out of nowhere to steady her. 'Careful, lass.'

Her head swivelled in the direction of the voice and she found herself looking at Dwalin's face. Now that took her by surprise. Since when did he care about what happened to her? Last she checked he had been none too pleased with her presence. But apparently things could change, especially in situations like this one, when they were stuck in a cage.

'Thanks,' she muttered, unsure of what else to say. She wasn't even sure she should.

Thorin meanwhile was carrying out a quick head count. '… Dori, Nori, Bifur and Glóin. That's fourteen.' A deep frown was etched into his forehead. 'Where's Gandalf?'

'Moving in mysterious ways,' Kate muttered under her breath. The wizard seemed to have banished into thin air for all she knew. At any rate she had not seen him since she had woken.

The goblins had turned away now that the show was over, arguing amongst themselves. They at least had other and better things to do than to mind their prisoners' conversation, which was definitely a good thing, since goblins didn't seem the kind of creatures that would be happy to learn that they had missed out on two other possible prisoners.

'Haven't seen him since the fight began,' Bombur reported.

'I think I saw him in the other back end of the cave shortly before we were all grabbed,' Dori said thoughtfully. 'He was taking on a few goblins of his own, so he must have escaped.'

'Or killed,' Ori chimed in.

There was actually no one who wanted to believe in that possibility, so he was ignored. All the same Kate did not believe in the wizard's death. He was as handy with his sword as he was with his staff and as far as she knew he was only that innocent old grandfather type when it suited him. The idea that Gandalf was dead was as ridiculous as the idea of the goblins only inviting them in for tea and biscuits.

'He might have abandoned us,' Dwalin spoke up.

Now there was something no one wanted to hear. Kate personally did not believe Gandalf would abandon them that easily. He needed this company to do some dragon-slaying for him after all. No, the advisor thought that Gandalf was really planning on turning up when they needed it most. She would however have no objection against the notion of him turning up right now.

'He'll be back for us,' she spoke up, speaking the words as forcefully as she could. It was more of a desperate hope than a solid belief and she knew it.

Apparently the real events did as they pleased. It was no good throwing the book and movie against them. The way Kate saw it these days the real events followed the storyline only loosely. At one event they followed the movie, at another the book. And the of course there were the events when book and movie seemed to have blended into one, making it impossible for her to determine where one ended and the other began. To top it off there were also moments when the real events bothered with neither.

This appeared to be one such occasion. Because there had been nothing in either book or movie about the goblins having another door so bloody close to their front gate. Kate would almost start to doubt her own memories about the very existence of the door they had found only the day before, but she also knew nothing was wrong with her memory. This was entirely unexpected: an unexpected journey down to Goblin-town, not exactly what she had in mind when she joined this company.

But the company didn't really question her bold statement. Kate figured they all really wanted to believe her, which was why they did believe it. Dwalin sent her a questioning glance to go with his curt nod, but he didn't really seem to doubt her. He was just keeping up appearances probably.

It was Thorin who seemed to have grasped the double meaning of her words better than any of the others. The dwarf king favoured her with an asking, yet serious look that conveyed his question if this was book knowledge perfectly. No idea when he had decided to start relying on the book, but for once she was just glad that he did. So she nodded curtly and visible over the heads of the others. From time to time it had its advantages to be the two tallest people in the company. Dwalin was the one other tall dwarf, but he was indeed shorter than Thorin, even if it was only by half a centimetre.

It was only when they had discussed this that Kate realised that Thorin had counted only fourteen people. Last she checked there were sixteen of them. 'Hang on, where's Bilbo?'

Thorin's face darkened and Kate had a feeling he had much rather she had not asked that question. He had not made it a secret that he greatly disliked the hobbit and was probably thinking they were well rid of him.

The journalist suspected Bilbo had made his own little trip down the rabbit hole, correction: goblin hole, but she wanted to be sure. Since this real Middle Earth seemed to have a will of its own, who was to say that the events with Gollum were even really happening? The hobbit could just be dead or lost. Or maybe – a tiny flicker of hope rose in her chest – he had escaped altogether. He could be halfway back to Rivendell by now and part of her would be extremely relieved if that turned out to be the case. Of course his help would be invaluable to the quest –that was, in the case they somehow got out of this hellhole alive – but she didn't really want him to have that encounter with Gollum either. The hobbit was not quite a friend yet – she didn't know him well enough for them to be friends – but she wished him no harm.

'He's alive,' Nori whispered.

Thorin fixed him with his most kingly stare. 'Are you sure?' He may not care about the hobbit at all, but to show only disinterest when his fate was being discussed, that would probably be considered rather rude, especially from the leader of the company.

Nori nodded fervently. His hair bounced happily with every nod of the head. 'The goblins had taken him as well, but they were distracted at some point and let go of him at some time, I think. I saw, so I asked him to go back and find Gandalf.'

Kate remembered that there had been a bit of arguing among the goblins when they had stopped right on a wooden contraption. If that was when Bilbo had managed to escape, then he at least would have a relatively easy time getting back to the gate they had come in through. It was close to the tunnel they had emerged from and that had appeared to be one long straight passage, even when it was hard to tell in that complete darkness. Maybe they could just skip the whole Goblin king bit of the story. If Bilbo managed to find Gandalf soon, the wizard might even get them out before it could come to that. Kate found herself greatly in favour of that idea. She had no ambition whatsoever to meet the king of the goblins, at all.

Thorin seemed to take that for a fact. He nodded and then directed his attention elsewhere. Kate might have called it uncaring, but she too soon forgot about Bilbo for a time when she heard marching feet coming out of one of the tunnels that led to the cave they were in. Someone quickly shoved her behind the dwarves, along with Ori. If they were trying to obscure her from sight, Kate could already tell that was not going to work. She was one of the tallest here and her red hair never failed to get people's attention either.

But at least it gave her the illusion of safety and that was a welcome thing indeed. It turned out that the new arrival was some kind of commander. He was a little taller than the other goblins present and he was heavily armoured, with a few guards of his own. It would seem that goblins chose their leaders based on their height, Kate observed, and not on intelligence. She was trying to decide if that made things better or worse, when the commander's voice interrupted her thoughts.

'What do we have here then?' he boomed, sending a curious yet suspicious glance in their direction.

'Dwarves,' another goblin replied in a submissive voice. He made a low bow to go with it. 'And a girl.'

'Woman,' Kate muttered under her breath. She was twenty-three for crying out loud. 'I'm not some foolish teenage girl anymore.'

Thorin sent her a look that told her she would be better off not pursuing that point, making her want to hit him. In fact maybe that would be a good idea. Right now she was desperate for things that took her mind off this altogether frightening situation. Humour had turned out to be a good armour against frightening reality in the past and she was more than happy to slip into it again.

'You'd better not comment on that,' she warned the king.

Thorin seemed to catch on to what she was doing and actually managed to smirk at her. 'I have only ever seen children shout their displeasure for all their companions to hear,' he informed her.

She arched an eyebrow. 'And this is coming from the man who frequently sits sulking in a corner like your average four year old?' she countered.

'Silence!' the commander snapped at them. For one reason Kate suddenly felt like a naughty school girl caught chatting in the class. The goblin had just the right tone to pass for an annoyed school teacher. Unfortunately he was capable of doing far worse things to her than just make her write lines and that stopped any giggle she might have felt coming on from coming out. The harsh reality of their situation hit her once more and she shivered. That commander was looking at her as if she was going to be his lunch snack and she did not like that at all.

Thorin reacted with his usual kingly scowl, the look he had perfected unleashing it on Kate about ten times a day. The cold reaction made her almost believe he was his usual I'm-the-king-and-I-don't-do-emotions self, but his hand slipped around Kate's wrist while he was still fixing the commander with his most disapproving stare. If she didn't know him any better, she would have said that he was trying to offer her support in the only way he knew how. But that notion was ridiculous and she would have asked him what the hell he did think he was doing, had she not been afraid that opening her mouth again might just cost her her life.

'Where did you find them?' the commander demanded of his subordinate.

'They were sleeping right in front of the emergency exit,' the subordinate replied. 'There were ponies as well, and luggage.'

'Then what are you waiting for?' the commander bellowed. 'Go and get it! I'll inform the Great Goblin.'

Kate did not like the sound of that, not at all, but the thing that stuck with her most as the cave started emptying out was the place the goblin had mentioned he had found them. 'The emergency exit?' she repeated in an altogether incredulous tone. 'What the hell? Did they get a visit from the Health and Safety inspection telling them that having only one door was not acceptable, just in case a fire broke out?' Honestly, from all things she had been thinking of as an explanation – and there had been a good few in the time since they had been taken – this had not been something she had been anticipating. The goblins didn't seem the types to value safety much, not if those bridges were anything to go by.

Dwalin snorted. 'Wouldn't surprise me if a fire actually broke out here,' he muttered. He seemed to have abandoned his hostile attitude for the moment and Kate was glad of it. This was hardly the time to start bickering. They could resolve any book-related issues when they were out of this blasted, stinking excuse for a town with a bloody emergency exit.

She replied with a huff, taking in their surroundings. 'Yes, that would not be surprising at all, since they failed to comply with just about every other Health and Safety regulation in existence.' The humour really did help in dealing with this all. It stopped her from panicking. And there was still the hope that Gandalf would come and get them out before things truly could go pear-shaped. If Bilbo had gone to find the wizard and he had found him, they could be on their way here right now, taking out every goblin with some kind of magical poof that made them drop dead on the spot. And by now Kate found herself wishing that he would make that appearance right now, because she really did not want to be taken to this Great Goblin. If he was anything like the one she had seen in the movie, then she would gladly avoid making his acquaintance.

But that choice was not up to her. The commander came back with more goblin guards at roughly the same time that the rest of the group returned with the ponies – Kate briefly wondered how it was possible the ponies had gotten over the bridges without them caving in under the weight – and the luggage. She was quite sure the ponies would soon be killed to eaten and she really regretted that, but when the commander announced that both luggage and prisoners had to be presented to the Great Goblin, she felt even more for herself.

**Thorin**

Thorin put up a fight for the sake of putting up a fight. He knew in advance it would be no use. There were far too many goblins here. He could never win. Yet it went against everything he had been taught to go with them willingly. For all he knew this Great Goblin was about to order their execution and he could not just sit by and twiddle his thumbs while his fate was being decided. Giving his life for his people and the quest was something he could live with – he had even accepted the prospect – but to be sentenced to die by a goblin like he was some kind of common criminal, no, he was not ready to accept that.

But of course it was no use. He was grabbed by many filthy goblin hands and forced out of the cage, that now rather felt like a safe haven instead of a prison compared to the horrors he knew awaited them at the Great Goblin's hands. For a moment he had the great satisfaction of kicking them away from him and he used that opportunity to slip back into the cage. It wasn't much of a victory, but at least it kept morale from reaching an all-time low.

There was no love between the goblins and the dwarves – although Thorin thought it would be safe to say that there was no love between the goblins and any other race in Middle Earth you cared to mention – and there was even less so after the battle of Azanulbizar. True, the dwarves had suffered great losses that day, but they in turn had put a rather large dent in their enemies' ranks as well and these foul creatures were unlikely to have forgotten that.

The other members of the company were not making it easy for their captors either. Thorin could see Dwalin knocking out a good few before they finally managed to keep him restrained. Kate – although still looking a bit cross-eyed from her encounter with the goblin's club – actually managed to land a violent kick in a goblin's private parts, making her "victim" squeal in pain and Thorin nod in appreciation. Ori, normally the least violent of the group, had taken the company advisor's advice of putting his right hook to good use. They all fought tooth and nail, knowing they were unlikely to survive this encounter with the king of the goblins.

In the end of course they lost and it would be no use fighting any longer. The goblins came at them with whips and swords and Thorin ushered them all into the corner of the cave, fully prepared to make a last stand and die honourably instead of being led to slaughter like unsuspecting lambs.

There were goblins grouping around the cage, looking at the scene with what appeared to be joy. It was frightening to see, because they didn't join their brethren to try and get the company out. It was as if they were really enjoying the show. They had whips in their hands as well, which they used to hit any dwarf within reach.

'Ow!' came a cry from somewhere behind Thorin. He looked over his shoulder and saw the advisor raise her hands to her face in a reflex. Some goblin's whip had streamed her face, right from the chin over the mouth and nose onto her forehead. It had only just missed her eyes. It could definitely have been worse, but the fact that there was blood dripping from the wounds made Thorin's blood practically boil with rage. Kate was one of them and a woman at that. How dare they treat her in such a low fashion? Didn't they have any manners at all? Of course the answer to that question was no and Thorin knew it.

'Get your hands off her!' he growled, beckoning Balin and Dori to keep the advisor sandwiched between them, far from the goblins' whips. He trusted Balin with his life and knew the elderly dwarf would do whatever it was that Thorin ordered him to do. And Dori would probably have protected Miss Andrews anyway. He doubted she was aware of the fact that to Dori and his brothers she had become something of an honorary sister, but that was what she was now. And Dori was fussy by nature, especially when it came to people he regarded as family. He would not let any harm come to the advisor as long as he lived and breathed.

This order was met by a maniacal cackling that made a cold shiver go down Thorin's spine. He suddenly got that uncomfortable feeling that he had only managed to make things ten times worse than they already were. He realised just a second too late that he had pointed out the weakest member of the company to them, the one they would all protect because of that weakness and with that he had also revealed a weakness in his company.

'_Shit_!' he muttered under his breath, conveniently ignoring the fact that that actually was Kate's favourite reaction to such a situation. 'Close ranks!'

But it was of course no use. There were still too many of the creatures and it was really too easy for them to go and grab the disarmed dwarves. Nevertheless Thorin kept resisting even as they forced him out of the cage and out of the cave. The next part of the journey took them over more weak bridges and narrow ledges and the dwarf king half considered trying to push some goblins to their death, but he was being held so tightly that he could only move his legs and only in the direction they wanted him to go.

And there were goblins everywhere. They were either looking down or looking up from other bridges and ledges, laughing, shouting insult. But the worst thing was that they had seen Kate. Now Thorin knew that none of them was bound to have an easy time here and they were very unlikely to make it out alive unless Gandalf appeared right here and now and magically took out the entire population of this cursed town, but Kate was a woman and they could do far worse to her. As the leader of this company he had a responsibility to prevent that kind of thing from happening and right now, there was just nothing he could do.

And she was scared. He only had to look over his shoulder to establish that. The company advisor was only a metre behind him, grabbed by goblins and forced forwards, but their hands were not only on her arms, he saw. And Kate was terrified, her eyes wide, face pale, visibly trembling as the goblins gave her a detailed report of what they would do to her when given the chance.

Thorin tried to send her a message with his eyes, trying to tell her that he would do everything in his power to get them all out before the goblins had the chance to make good on their threats. He was not going to sit back and watch as his company was tortured by goblins and he was desperately looking for an escape route.

He found none and when they were forced onto a platform he knew that all chances had gone. There was a throne situated at the end of it and on that throne sat the biggest, ugliest goblin Thorin had ever laid eyes on. And there was no way out of this place. The goblins were everywhere and the only exit was the way they had come. It was hopeless.

The goblins forced them all to stand together and formed a living wall around them. At least this allowed Thorin to slip back and whisper some commands. 'Balin, Dori, watch after Miss Andrews,' he ordered. 'Whatever happens, you do not let any harm come to her.'

Dori caught on immediately. That dwarf was fiercely loyal and Kate had won his loyalty by saving Dori's brother. Ten to one Dori really looked upon the advisor as if she was a younger sister and if the goblins as much as whispered Kate's name and the word rape in one breath, they would have another thing coming. The only reply consisted of a curt nod, but he didn't need more.

Balin too nodded. 'We'll take care of her, laddie.' It was all the reassurance he could give at the moment and Thorin knew that. In this blasted place no one could expect to come out unscathed, but at least he had done all he could.

He touched Kate's arm, favouring her with a stern look. 'Do not let them see your fear,' he commanded. 'They want you to fear them. Do not give them the satisfaction.'

He had chosen the right words, it would seem. Miss Andrews had never been one to do as people expected of her and the very mention of her doing as the goblins wanted her to do caused a tiny spark of defiance to light up in her eyes. 'Then I'll bloody well have to come up with something better than that,' she hissed. It was probably more bravado than anything else, but Thorin was glad of that much. 'How about a plan to get out of this hellhole?'

'You've got a plan?'

'Hoping that Gandalf gets here within the next couple of minutes?' she offered with an apologetic smile.

He was severely tempted to moan in exasperation. '_That_'s what's in your book?'

Miss Andrews at least appeared to be slightly irritated now. 'Well, if you've got a better idea, please share!' she whispered furiously.

But Thorin had no such plan and he did not have time to think of one either, because the Great Goblin had just jumped off his throne and onto the platform. The entire thing shook with the force of it. 'Who would be so bold as to come armed to my kingdom?' he growled, leaning closer to the group. He cast a fleeting glance at the pile of luggage, including the swords and axes, that the goblins had been dragging with them to present to their king. 'Spies? Thieves? Assassins?'

'Oh, believe me, I'd love to assassinate him,' Kate muttered under her breath, so softly only Thorin, Kíli and Dori, the dwarves closest to her, could hear it. 'If only not to hear that horrible voice of his again.'

Thorin almost cracked a smile there and then. This was still bravado, but it was also a way of dealing with this. He had no idea when he had come to regard humour and sarcasm as armour, a way of protecting oneself, but it appeared to be working and not only for Kate.

As it was, none of the company were expected to answer the question. The commander took care of that. 'Dwarves, your malevolence.'

'Dwarves?' the Great Goblin echoed.

'We found them at the emergency exit,' the commander reported.

'And what are they doing here, I wonder?' The question was all but bellowed out. 'Up to no good, I'll warrant! Spying on the private business of my people, I guess! Thieves, I shouldn't be surprised to learn! Murderers and friends of elves, not unlikely! Now, tell me, what are you doing in these parts?'

This was looking bad, very bad indeed. The Great Goblin may have been asking the question, but it very much sounded as if he had already come to his own conclusions. Nothing would change his mind on this matter and while Thorin would really want to nothing more than to reply with a silent defiance, he wasn't just thinking about his own wellbeing here. He had an entire company that relied on him. And so he swallowed his pride and stepped forward. 'Thorin, at your service,' he told the Great Goblin, even if his tone probably belied his words. 'We have not come to your kingdom to do any of those things you accuse us of. We merely took shelter from a storm in a cave that appeared to be unused and empty. Nothing was further from our minds than inconveniencing goblins in any way.' _And we were not planning on inconveniencing ourselves in such a way either_.

He hated to sound so submissive. Thorin knew he was too proud for his own good from time to time, and to humiliate himself this much in front of goblins, that was almost too much. But if there was a chance, no matter how small, that Gandalf was out there looking for them, it was his duty to buy them as much time as he possibly could. It had worked before with the trolls.

But he was afraid that his little speech had quite the wrong effect. Even when Thorin had carefully edited out every part of his name that might give away his real identity – because Thorin wasn't such an unusual name for a dwarf – a flash of recognition had still crossed the Great Goblin's ugly face when he heard it. 'Well, well, well, look who it is.' There was an altogether unpleasant – Kate would call it creepy – smile on his face. 'Thorin, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, King under the Mountain!' He made a very low, mocking bow to go with it, making Thorin want to forget all about his decision not to fly off the handle and just make this ugly goblin pay in kind for his insult. 'Oh, but I am forgetting: you don't have a Mountain and you're not a king, which makes you… nobody really.'

Thorin's blood was quickly reaching boiling point and only a hand on his arm stopped him from losing it completely. 'Do not give him the satisfaction,' a soft voice reminded him.

The dwarf king had no idea when Miss Andrews had come closer and he knew it was stupid of her to have done so in the first place, but her presence was a gift from Mahal right now. Normally he hated it when someone – Balin most of the time – threw his own advice back into his face, but in this case he found it to be actually working.

Unfortunately the Great Goblin had not missed out on that quick and hushed conversation. 'And who is this?' He leaned forward towards Kate and the advisor automatically backed away in fear. Only Thorin's grip on her arm stopped her from going too far. 'You are not a dwarf, are you?'

'I'm Catherine, daughter of John, at your service,' she replied. There was a slight tremor in her voice and her nails were digging into the skin of Thorin's hand, but she remained in place and looked the Great Goblin in the eyes.

Thorin studied the king of the goblins and saw the change in his expression. A triumphant smile appeared on his face, causing the cold shivers to return. This was bad, very bad. 'How… unusual,' the Great Goblin remarked. 'How very unusual.'

For Durin's sake, that halfwit could not be thinking what Thorin thought he was thinking, could he? But when he was really honest with himself, he had to admit that their whispering and holding hands had led far more intelligent creatures to see something that wasn't there. But back in Rivendell it had been the key to keeping Miss Andrews with them. Here her association with him could only make things worse.

'Who would have believed?' the Great Goblin exclaimed. 'Who would have believed that the great Thorin Oakenshield would take a human girl for a wife?' He lowered his voice a little. 'I know someone who would pay me handsomely for that kind of information. I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head and possibly hers as well. Just the head, though, nothing attached.'

Kate was clearly scared now. All her bravado had melted away. And for all Thorin had ever said about her, she was by no means stupid. She knew where this conversation was heading. She knew what that in this place it would be no good to be associated with him. But she had yet to let go of his hand. But then, she might simply be too scared now to dare let go of him. And the harm was already done. Whoever it was that was on their trail would probably be informed of her existence soon and that would make her as desired a target as Thorin himself.

The Great Goblin had done a few steps back, studying the supposed couple with interest. 'Perhaps you already know of whom I speak.' He was practically smirking at them and Thorin could feel his muscles tense in anticipation. 'An old enemy of yours. Of course your pretty little wife wasn't even born then. It would be unfair to include her in your feud. Does she even know what kind of dwarf she married?'

That sparked Kate's anger apparently. 'To one who has more honour and courage than there is to be found in this stinking bloody town of yours,' she snapped. It was again just a mask and she was still frightened, if her trying to squeeze Thorin's hand into jelly was any indication at all. 'And you can tell Azog the Defiler to do his defiling somewhere else. Quite frankly it's a bit childish to still not be over the loss of his bloody hand.'

She could not be serious, could she? Azog had been slain in the battle of Azanulbizar. Thorin had wielded the blade that had injured the Pale Orc mortally himself. No one recovered from such injuries.

But the reaction of the Great Goblin belied that reasoning. His face split into the most frightening grin Thorin had ever seen in his life, and he had seen a good few over the years. 'So you think it is as simple as that, do you, Catherine, daughter of John?'

Thorin knew that it wasn't. The Great Goblin's reaction to Kate's words at least told Thorin something he had not wanted to know. On the other hand a lot of things started to make sense now. As much as he disliked the idea he knew that this would explain why they were being hunted now. The feud he had believed had died with Azog was still very much alive, endangering not only his own life, but also the lives of all those close to him.

'I am sure you think it isn't,' Kate countered seemingly effortlessly. There was an angry fire now blazing in her eyes. Thorin knew that look, having been on the receiving end of it for more times than he cared to remember. But this too was as much a piece of armour as the humour had been. It was a way of protecting herself, he had come to learn: lashing out at people in order to prevent them from getting the chance to hurt her. 'But that would be because you're simply too stupid to see the truth.'

That had the king of the goblins stare at her as if she had grown a second head. There was complete and utter silence in the cave and even Thorin caught himself holding his breath. Kate's anger had made her reckless and in her anger she had said something that could have blown every chance they still had of getting out alive.

The silence was only broken by one of the goblins that had been going through their luggage. They were examining the weapons now and one of them had chanced upon Thorin's blade. He screeched and threw the sword onto the ground as if he had literally burned his fingers on it.

The Great Goblin took one look at it and then staggered back as well. 'I know that sword!' he howled. 'It is the Goblin-cleaver, the Biter, the blade that sliced a thousand necks! Murderers and elf-friends! Slash them! Beat them! Bite them! Gnash them! Let them never see the light again! Kill them! Kill them all!'

The goblins were far too eager to obey that order. They came at the company with swords and whips again and the dwarf king was all too soon knocked off his feet, taking Kate with him in his fall. The shock had finally made her let go of him, but it was of no use. His struggles meant nothing to his attackers. He fought, but the weight of so many goblins sitting on him pressed him down, making it impossible for him to move, almost impossible to even breathe.

So when one of the goblins somehow produced a dirty dagger and held it right above Thorin's throat, he knew he was going to die. Strangely enough he did not feel scared. He had come to the conclusion that he had never really been afraid of death. What he felt now was regret, for his company and for his people. And there was rage there too, fury pulsing through his veins as he realised that he was powerless, that there was nothing he could do to stop this horror from happening.

And that was the moment that all the lights went suddenly out.

* * *

From Kate's note:_ I, Catherine Sarah Andrews, do hereby solemnly swear never ever to enrage a goblin king again._

* * *

**Thanks for reading again. I know it is unlikely for the goblins to have an emergency exit, but basically I just had this idea of there being multiple doors and this was just one of them. And then I had this amusing mental picture of a health and safety inspector coming to inspect Goblin-town. Well, there you have it.**

**Anyway, I hope I did a good job on this one. Writing action is definitely not my forte, so hopefully I didn't mess it up too much. **

**If you have a minute, please review?**


	20. Chapter 20 Darkness

**Hello, dearest readers, here's the new chapter. Once again, not really sure about the action parts in this, but let's hope I didn't make too much of a mess of it. And thanks for all the reviews, especially the guest reviews I can't reply to by PM. It means a lot, especially the guest who has been leaving reviews here, there and everywhere. Thanks!**

**Anyway, enough of my rambling. On with the story! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

**Darkness**

_I'm not even sure I knew what was happening when it suddenly turned dark in the huge cave that I assumed to be the goblin equivalent of a throne room. I knew both movie and book pretty well, but the situation had been far too chaotic and frightening for me to carry out some sodding analysis of our current situation. And, as I had learned some time before our little trip into Goblin-town, reality was quite a different thing than watching a movie or reading a book with a nice cup of tea in your hand and our adventures in the goblin's realm only served to prove that to me once again._

_For a time it actually bothered me when I heard people tell the stories about the events in Goblin-town and made it sound like it was the most amazing thing in the world, even when they really had no idea what it was that they were actually talking about. At first I would call them out on it, but then everyone started doing it and there was just no stopping it anymore._

_Eventually their insistence to call the whole goblin ordeal at least slightly funny started to win even me over. And true, the Great Goblin was more or less a ridiculous person. His weird excuse for a chin was just one of the many strange, disturbing things about him. His fear of Orcrist and his manners were just other fine examples. So by the time you were old enough to be told the stories, I tended to picture it as this crazy adventure that we, naturally, had come out of alive and unscathed. _

_Well, I may not have not been entirely truthful about the unscathed part of the tale and believe me, when we were there, about to be finished off by a bunch of mentally deranged creatures who should never have been allowed anywhere near the weapons in the first place, I was certainly in no mood to call it funny…_

**Thorin**

For a moment Thorin was frozen in place as the entire cave suddenly went dark. He gave up on his resistance, just shocked into lying there as events unfolded. There was no logical explanation as to why all the torches in this massive cave would go out all at once. Not even a strong gust of wind could have been responsible for that. Such a thing could only be done by… magic.

As the explanation for this situation presented itself to him, really all he could feel for just a split second was relief. Mr Baggins must be a little less useless than Thorin had believed. He must have found the wizard somewhere. Not that this explained where Gandalf had gone to in the first place, but there would hopefully be time to discuss that later.

Right now there was still a goblin sitting on his chest and the dwarf king was quite convinced that as soon as he regained his wits – as far as he had them – he would still try and sever Thorin's head from his shoulders. As he actually liked his head attached to the rest of his body, he knew he had to act right away. The other goblins had somewhat loosened their tight grips as well and Thorin jumped at the opportunity, rolling away from them as fast and forcefully as he could. That threw off his attackers.

'Ow!' A muffled cry stopped him from rolling any further.

'Kate?' He thought he recognised the voice as that of the advisor. Only a second too late he realised he had called her by her first name instead of her last name, as he had promised himself he'd do.

'Nice to see you to,' came the grumpy reply. 'Now get off me! All this fumbling in the dark is getting rather awkward here and I think I'm suffocating under your weight.'

It was only now that he realised he had not just rolled against her, but onto her and that they were indeed in somewhat of a compromising situation. For a moment he was tempted to shot back some sarcastic reply, but they were still in a rather dangerous situation and this was really not the time.

He did as she asked, but held her hand tightly in his. 'Whatever happens, you do not let go,' he told her. It would be hard enough to find the rest of his company in this cursed darkness without Miss Andrews getting lost as well. He was a dwarf, used to living underground and his eyesight was usually good in these dark places. But even dwarves needed a little light, no matter how little, to go on and there was none of it in here. He was practically blind and that scared and frustrated him more than he was ready to admit to anyone, even to himself.

Thorin had hardly finished that thought when he noticed something that looked like blue glowing smoke above their heads, bathing the platform in an eerie light. Normally this would have him drawing his sword, ready to attack the source of the magic, but not today. He had been witness to Gandalf's fireworks, both magical and non-magical, several times in the past and this was definitely his work.

'On your feet!' he hissed at Miss Andrews. 'Be ready to run.'

In the faint light he could make out her curt nod. Her fingers were once again holding his hand in a death grip and her eyes were still wide with fear. And frightened Kate was either more snappy than usual, or far more subdued than normally was the case. It would appear it was the latter today.

He pulled her to her feet and then quickly glanced around him to look for the rest of the company. Most of them had already fought off their own attackers and were now making a run for the tall figure that suddenly had materialised next to the pile of luggage. There was no mistaking that pointy hat, not even with so little light available to them, nor was it difficult to guess who the much smaller person next to him was. Gandalf and the burglar had made it.

It was only when he started pulling Kate with him in the right direction that all hell really broke loose, or that was how the company advisor would phrase it. So far the goblins had been wonderfully confused about what had just happened. They had voiced their surprise and displeasure right away in angry shrieks and furious howling, but they had been too shocked to really do something. Or maybe they had just been too scared. Thorin knew that the goblins feared magic more than anything else and if the dwarf had been able to put two and two together, they surely must have too, because, contrary to popular belief, goblins were anything but stupid.

But now the furious howls turned to howls of pain and agony as Gandalf's magical smoke started to shoot sparks at them, that somehow never seemed to get anywhere near Thorin's company. Thorin had no idea what exactly it was that the wizard had sent at the goblins, but it must be something altogether nasty. The sparks made a burning and hissing noise when coming into contact with the foul creatures and the smell of burned flesh invaded Thorin's nose. The burning sparks had the goblins howling and rolling on the floor like the crazy creatures some people believed them to be.

'Gandalf,' he acknowledged the wizard.

He just inclined his head. 'It seems I have come just in the nick of time again.' There was an amused tone to his voice. 'Hurry, we must get out of here.'

_We would never have been here had you not done a disappearing act right in the middle of the fight_, Thorin thought venomously, but he would readily admit that this was not the time to discuss this matter. But he would remember it and when they did have the time, he would demand to know what exactly had been going on.

'Move out,' he ordered his company. 'Dori, take care of Miss Andrews.' He was not really happy with that arrangement, but Dori at least would do what it took to keep her out of trouble as much as that was possible in these circumstances. Thorin was the leader of this company and he could not be acting like a glorified babysitter all the time, not that his sister hadn't tried to make him into one from time to time.

The other dwarf gave a solemn nod. 'No harm will come to her. You have my word.'

Kate muttered something along the lines of how she was not some package to be passed around at everyone's convenience and how she was actually capable of walking on her own, but both men made a point of ignoring her muttered protests.

'Good,' Thorin said. It would seem they were all there, but there was not much time to do a real head count, as much as he really wanted to, because he would not like to leave anyone behind in this hellhole, as Kate had called it. Come to think of it, that about summed it up to perfection.

But there was no time. Because of course this had to be made just a bit more complicated than it already was. The magical sparks had failed to hit the Great Goblin – which Thorin considered an achievement in and out of itself – and he was now coming at the unarmed company with more speed than the dwarf king would have believed him capable of. And Kate was right in his path.

He didn't think. There was no time to. He just reached out to her, his hands finding her waist. And for once he was glad that she was so small and fragile. It hardly took him any strength at all to yank her out of the way. In fact, he underestimated how easy it was going to be, resulting in Kate landing in his arms and against his chest, his own force almost knocking the pair of them to the ground.

'Do that again and I'll swear you're seriously going to regret that,' came Kate's furious hiss as their bodies collided.

Thorin ignored her. Practise made perfect and he found he had become quite good at it over time. He shoved her back in Dori's hands, glaring at the other for not looking after her better, while Gandalf made short work of the Great Goblin, slicing both neck and belly with his great elven sword, that seemed to shine of its own volition. There was something disturbing about that. Swords weren't meant to glow, not like that.

'Move!' Gandalf yelled at them. 'Follow me, quickly!'

For once Thorin didn't mind being bossed about by the wizard. It was all too clear that Gandalf knew the way out and Thorin most certainly did not. He saw some of his companions quickly grasp their weapons and some of the bags before they followed the wizard. Miss Andrews was one of them. She made a beeline for her rucksack and sword, grabbing both before getting dragged away by Dori, who would probably rather die than lose her out of his sight again and risk his king's wrath.

Thorin himself gathered his sword and axe again as well. He would not run through these mountains unarmed if he could help it. He all too clearly remembered that overwhelming feeling of being helpless, incapable of doing anything to help his men get out of this situation alive. The next time the goblins came at them, he would have a sword in hand to protect them.

The goblins were still writhing on the ground in pain as he collected his weapons. Gandalf's sparks must be more dangerous than the dwarf had thought if the effects indeed lasted so long. But they would surely not last for too much longer and it was time to leave.

He took one bag with him, knowing it was filled with food. Leaving behind valuable supplies would be foolish indeed, especially since they had no idea how long it would take for them to leave these cursed mountains and find a place to restock their supplies.

Thorin was already turning to leave when something else caught his eye. There, abandoned on the ground, was the book that Thorin feared so much. It must have been thrown onto the ground by the goblins when they searched their luggage, deemed unworthy of any further attention.

He would not deny that he was greatly tempted to leave this dreaded book where he found it. He could leave it here, never having to deal with it again. But then, was that really his choice to make? It was her book, not his. Who was he to decide what happened to her belongings, the belongings she so obviously treasured beyond anything? She had gone straight for them as soon as she had gotten the chance. They meant something to her, just as much as his key and map meant to him.

'Bugger that woman,' he muttered under his breath as he tucked the book behind his belt. It wasn't that heavy. Come to think of it, it was rather small, too small really to be so important. And yet if Gandalf and Miss Andrews were to be believed all their fates rested on it.

He told himself that it was far riskier to leave it than to take it with him while he ran after his companions, fighting goblins as he went. Not that there was much resistance. The vast majority of the goblins was still writhing on the ground in agony and those that were not hurt by the magical sparks were blinded a heavy smoke that obscured the dwarves from view.

But they could not reasonably leave the book behind, Thorin told himself as he kicked a goblin off the ledge over which he was running. Someone was bound to find the book and as soon as they realised what was in it, there was every chance of them giving it to Thorin's sworn enemy. They would know exactly where to look for the company if that happened. It would spoil every chance of successfully completing this quest.

Gandalf seemed to know what he was doing as he led them straight back into the tunnels again. Thorin's sense of direction told them they were not heading back towards the emergency exit. Instead Gandalf opted on leading them deeper into the mountains, going down all the way. The tunnels were dark and they had only the faint light of Gandalf's staff to go on.

Fortunately this place was blessedly free of the presence of goblins, although the stench of this place told Thorin that this too belonged to their realm and as soon as the confusion had been cleared up along with the smoke and the torches would be relit, the goblins would find out that their king had been killed. He did not doubt that the goblins would not take that well. And as soon as they found their dead king's body, they would go after their escaped prisoners in great numbers. Now that was a prospect that Thorin did not find himself looking forward to at all.

Time lost all meaning and in hindsight he would never be able to tell for how long they ran in this manner. There was no sound save for their breathing and their footsteps on the ground. Thorin found himself constantly listening for signs of goblins in pursuit, but behind them it remained silent. Not that this reassured him in any way. It was too silent. Somehow that never seemed to bode well either.

They finally came to a halt in a small cave, to Thorin's displeasure. He went straight to the wizard. 'We should press on,' he hissed urgently.

'We should once we have checked over the wounded,' the wizard replied in his own calm manner. He beckoned at the company, making Thorin realise that at least five members of it had sustained injuries that were bad enough to be bleeding. Miss Andrews was of course among them, with that wound the whip had caused. Bombur seemed to have been hit by one as well. Balin and Dori were sporting bleeding injuries on arms and shoulders and Bofur was limping, bleeding from a rather serious looking wound on his right leg.

Thorin didn't like it at all, but he had to agree that these injuries needed medical attention sooner rather than later. Dwarves were as tough as the mountains under which they built their kingdoms, but not even they were immune to wound infection and the goblins' weapons were hardly clean.

He gave a reluctant nod and beckoned Óin to see to it. 'Make haste,' he ordered. 'We must leave before the goblins will follow us here.'

And follow they would, Thorin had no doubt about that. One of them had killed their king and that was a crime they could not let go unanswered. He knew how to tend to injuries and so he marched over to Balin, who was trying to get a look at the wound in his shoulder, but was unsuccessful in those attempts, because his beard kept getting in the way.

'Let me,' Thorin offered. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he remembered how often it had been the other way around. Thorin had been reckless when he was younger and had more than once gotten himself hurt because of it, especially in those first few years of exile. His father and grandfather had always been too busy with other things and so it had been Balin who had watched out for him. Even for a dwarf his loyalty was remarkable and Thorin felt himself more than willing to repay the favour. Not out of duty, but out of friendship.

'Thank you, laddie.' The elderly dwarf smiled at him. 'This old warrior seems incapable of getting his head turned in the right direction.'

'Or keeping his beard out of the way,' Thorin teased mildly. There were certain advantages to keeping his beard as short as he had it, apart from the meaning it held to him. 'What hit you?'

'Tip of a goblin blade,' Balin replied as Thorin removed the cloth from over the wound. 'I couldn't get out of the way quick enough. It's but a scratch.'

It was a whole lot more than a scratch. It didn't take an expert to see that. For once he was glad that it was almost dark here, because he was not sure he wanted his old friend to see the expression on his face. Thorin remembered thinking that Balin was too old for this, back in Rivendell when he had been about to give up on the quest and turn back to the Ered Luin. Some parts of that reasoning were still true. What he saw now was only a taste of the horrors that might still lie before them still.

'Óin will need to look at it,' Thorin told him sternly.

Balin's patient smile told him that they did not have the time for that. 'If you can just clean the wound, then the rest can wait.'

'Balin…' he tried to protest.

'This quest is more important than the life of one old dwarf, laddie,' his friend said. 'You cannot delay here for just my sake.'

But that was not the kind of dwarf or king Thorin wanted to be. 'I will not leave a single member of this company behind to suffer at the hands of goblins,' he replied curtly. 'And that is not up for discussion, Balin,' he added when he saw that he was about to voice his protests. 'You chose to follow me and I swear by Mahal that I will do everything within my power to protect each and every member of this company.' It might not be the wisest thing to do, any army commander would tell him that. They would tell him that it would be foolish to risk an entire group of people for the sake of one elderly man. But Thorin was not that kind of a leader. He had seen enough death in his lifetime, lost more family and friends than most people would ever have to deal with. He would not add another name to that list, not if he could help it.

'Óin, get here,' he barked at the company's half deaf healer. He was cleaning the cut on Miss Andrews's face. 'Balin needs help.'

For a moment Thorin feared he would need to repeat his order – quite possibly five times over – but then the understanding dawned on his face. 'I will in some minutes. I need to finish this.'

Thorin could only just prevent his teeth from gritting in anger. 'Now, Óin,' he snarled. 'I can deal with Miss Andrews.'

The person in question didn't look like she was too pleased with that arrangement and the feeling was mutual. But the rest of the company was already busy. Normally the dwarf king would have commanded Dori to treat her wound, but the dwarf was too preoccupied tending to his own injuries.

Óin, being the healer that he was, was visibly very much opposed to leaving a patient in the middle of a treatment, but between Thorin's best commander look and voice and Kate's gentle 'Go on, I'll be fine' he did not have much of a choice and so he nodded and got up.

Thorin braced himself and took his place.

**Kate**

Kate was not sure she was completely at ease with Thorin cleaning the wound on her face, but she was hardly in a position to complain. That injury needed to be seen to and she could not do it herself, since she could not see what she was doing. Nevertheless Thorin's tone just now had suggested that he would rather have her for lunch than tend to her injury.

Óin had told her that the wound wasn't deep, but he had also informed her that some filth had gotten into the wound. The goblins' whips were not exactly clean, so Kate had no trouble whatsoever taking the all but deaf healer's word for it. She had seen their tormentors pick the bloody things up from a very dirty floor. No, hygiene was very obviously not very high on their list of priorities, but that wasn't really much of a surprise.

But all in all she wasn't too worried for herself. The cut hurt like someone was holding a hot flame against it, but she knew it felt worse than it really was. She just needed to make sure it was clean and then it would heal over time.

Well, it would heal, but it was likely to scar. Kate grimaced to herself. She had no idea how on earth she was going to explain that one once she was back home. The cut was positioned right across her face, from the far left side of her chin, over her mouth and nose to the far right end of her forehead. She was very lucky that that blasted whip had missed her eyes, or things could have looked far worse.

It was however impossible to hide this injury. And if Óin was right and this would indeed scar, then she would need to invent some kind of explanation for her family. She had a feeling that the tried and tested excuse of _I tripped and fell_ would not do the trick in this case.

_You're being ridiculous_, she thought. _From all the things you could possibly be worrying about!_

That was probably common sense rearing its ugly head. It had been rather quiet during the whole goblin ordeal, but Kate had not been really looking for it either. She had been too busy panicking. Looking back on it now she was none too proud of her actions there. She had shielded herself in humour and anger, but it was escapism all the same and she felt ashamed of herself. The others had been able to face it with a calm Kate could only be jealous of. She had freaked out and now it felt like an unforgivable sin, especially when she remembered that she out of all people had _known_ that they would all make it out alive again.

She was sure that everyone knew it and that they thought lesser of her for it. Thorin's dismissive scowl seemed to support that theory. Gandalf's staff may not give them much light to see by, but she had not missed out on the gentle expression on the dwarf king's face when he had tended to Balin and the angry and impatient glare he had directed her way.

That expression had not changed when he took Óin's place and began to clean the wound without saying a word, a guarded, almost absent look in his eyes. Kate had come to learn that this blank face was like a mask, his mental piece of armour, that he hid behind whenever he wanted to think. It was like he had retreated deep into himself, to a place where no one could reach him. It made him difficult, almost impossible, to read, and his actions were so contradictory from time to time that it was hard to really understand him based on his actions alone.

His work was good though. He was surprisingly careful and thorough in his work. There was a certain routine to his movements, betraying that he had been doing this countless times before. Kate wasn't really sure what she had expected. Maybe, somewhere deep down, she had expected him to be rough, to do it quickly in order to get away from her as soon as he could. He had been quick enough to hand her over to Dori when they had been busy escaping, even when he had told her not to let go off his hand only a minute previously. Yet he had also been protective of her when the goblins came at them with their bloody whips and he had been the same when they faced the Great Goblin. _Ugh, that man is a riddle wrapped up in a mystery._

'I can do it myself, you know,' she forced herself to say when the silence dragged on so long that she was starting to feel uncomfortable, even when she knew she couldn't.

She immediately found herself on the receiving end of Thorin's most disapproving stare. 'No, you cannot. Be silent.'

He apparently didn't trust her to obey that order – and with good reason – so he started cleaning her split lips. That was a really sensitive part of the cut and Kate had to fight hard to stop the tears from appearing in her eyes. The dwarves' opinion of her was low enough as it was. She could not be seen crying, to be perceived as weaker than she already was.

She had been aware of the fact that she was not strong, not a master in wielding any kind of weapon, but this whole goblin affair had rubbed her nose into it, made her all too painfully aware of her failures and it was awful. She was a burden to this company. She had nothing to contribute in terms of fighting and her advice was more or less useless as well. Her knowledge had not prevented them from falling into goblin hands and they had still encountered the stone giants as well. What had even made her think it was well within her powers to change anything at all?

The silence returned. Some distance away from them the others were seeing to their own injuries, muttering and whispering softly. Sound carried far in these tunnels and caves and nobody was particularly keen to alert the goblins to their exact whereabouts.

But this silence was too uncomfortable, too awkward even. Kate was quite sure of the fact that the goblin king had presumed that she was married to Thorin. What was it that people saw in them that made them almost automatically jump to the conclusion that she was married to this grumpy dwarf king? The Great Goblin had called it unusual, so why assume it in the first place? Was it simply because she just so happened to be a woman?

The silence soon became too uncomfortable for her, so when Thorin moved away from her lips to clean the rest of the wound, she took the opportunity to talk. 'I'm sorry,' she muttered.

That was met by surprise. His hands stilled and he looked her in the eyes with a hint of confusion. 'What would you be sorry for?' he questioned.

_Where to begin? The fact that I am here, that I am so useless, that I can't seem to be changing anything at all…_ The list was near endless, especially when one looked at it from Thorin's perspective. In the end however she settled for the last option. 'That we could not avoid this ordeal,' she replied. 'I really thought I could do it.'

There was something altogether unnerving about that look in Thorin's eyes. To her it felt as if he was looking right through her and she was not sure she was comfortable with that. 'It was not your fault,' he replied in the end, making Kate wonder just how much it cost him to say that. 'And you were right about Azog. I should have listened to you.'

He could as well have told her that the goblins were their best friends. Kate could only stare at him, jaw dropped. In one breath Thorin Oakenshield, the man who had spent the last few months insisting she was lying, had admitted that she was right and that he himself had been at fault not listening to her. Quite frankly she had expected him to shout at her, to snap at her for not knowing about the emergency exit. This, this admitting that she was right caught her completely unaware and she had no idea how on earth she was supposed to react to it.

In the end she tried to joke it away. 'You must have had too little sleep last night,' she told him. 'Or else I'm going deaf.'

His steady gaze told her that this was not something to joke about and it wasn't. It was just her that was unable to handle this, this sudden faith in her and her knowledge. He was acting friendly towards her, out of all things to do. That was a novelty and she had no clue as to what to do with it. Shouting, she had not so long ago told him, that she could deal with. Shouting was familiar. They understood each other when they did that. But now Thorin started to act friendly and she felt like she was going into free fall. Why was he being so gentle now when he had been so snappy just minutes before?

Maybe it was just his crisis mode. They would work together until they were out of this wretched place again and they could continue fighting in peace. At least she hoped that was the case, because right now he made it so very bloody difficult for her to dislike him and if there was one thing she was certain she never wanted to do, then it was to start liking this grumpy dwarf. _Because this is not one of your sodding fanfictions. This is reality and in reality Thorin Oakenshield is as grumpy as he is royal._

_And now you're just sounding childish_, she told herself a second later. People could change, especially in these life-threatening situations. Her determination to dislike the dwarf in front of her just because that was convenient was quite ridiculous and she knew it.

'You heard me right,' Thorin informed her while he continued to tend to the wound.

Kate would have nodded – since that didn't require her to speak – but that was impossible since she had to hold her head still. She settled for a wry: 'Believe me, I didn't want to be right.'

Thorin nodded solemnly. 'You will be a desired target of his now as well.' He didn't need to identify this person any further. She knew who he was talking about.

'I figured,' she muttered. And she had. She had realised the moment the Great Goblin had started his gloating about how Azog was going to pay him handsomely for the dwarf king's head, and possibly hers as well. It would not take long for word to reach that Pale Orc and then she would be hunted too. 'Doesn't really matter, though, does it?' She tried to shrug it away. 'He was going to come after the company anyway and he didn't strike me as the type to let me go while he finished the rest of us off. I was going to be a target anyway.' It must be the exhaustion and the relief of getting away from the goblins why she could take it as calmly as she did. Had someone told her this piece of information twenty-four hours ago, she was fairly sure she would have freaked out.

'I am afraid so.' Thorin looked his work over and then leaned back when he was pleased with it. Kate thought both of them might be grateful for the distance between them.

She grimaced. 'Why is Azog so hell-bent on getting to you anyway?' That question had been tugging at the back of her mind for some time now and she supposed that since she would soon be promoted to the second place on Azog's hit list because of her supposed marriage to the number one on that list, she had a justified reason to ask. 'One version of the story mentioned that Azog had vowed to wipe out the line of Durin, but I never really found out why he took that vow in the first place.'

Thorin looked pensive, staring at a point somewhere behind her left ear and for a moment Kate assumed he was just going to ignore her again, pretending he had never heard her question since she had brought the book he so hated into the conversation.

So she was rather surprised when at long last he began to speak again. 'It's long story,' he replied. 'But it comes down to my grandfather Thrór slaying Azog's father in a battle, before the dragon came to Erebor. Azog swore he would get his revenge on Thrór and his line.' He smiled wryly. 'In that case your story is wrong, Miss Andrews. It is not the entire line of Durin that he is after. He never went after Dáin.'

Kate could only answer that with a wry smile of her own. 'It would appear that my story is wrong on more than one account, Mr Oakenshield.' It frightened her to know that, but she had also come to the conclusion that she had long since accepted that this was just the way it was in Middle Earth. The realisation had first come after their encounter with the trolls. The book and movie were some sort of guidelines, she had learned. They gave you direction, but they did not spell out every detail. That was for her to find out herself. 'I'm not even sure how much use I really am. Even when I am allowed to make use of my knowledge, it seems as if something or someone is working against me, preventing me from doing what I was brought here to do.'

She didn't even know why she was sharing these concerns with Thorin Oakenshield of all people. This might have been a conversation she had with Balin, but never Thorin. And when she saw Thorin's shocked face staring back at her, she remembered the reason why she would normally never discuss this with him. Because if she doubted her ability to change the future, she also doubted her ability to save his very life at the end of the journey. And that was bound not to make him do a happy dance around this cave.

'Oh, shit!' she said. 'Thorin, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that.'

His feelings were hidden behind the mask again. 'Like what?' he asked icily.

'Like I'm not capable of saving lives with the knowledge of the book,' she clarified. 'I'll really try, I promise.'

And she would. The moment she had accepted that Gandalf was not going to send her home, she had decided she might as well do her job. She had signed the contract after all and if she did what she was brought here to do, at least her presence here had some use. And this company had slowly wriggled its way into her heart. She would not be able to look at her face in the mirror if she did not do everything that she could to somehow create a happier ending. Because really, she wasn't too fond of Thorin, but she could not just let him die either. And Kíli and Fíli had become friends of sorts. For them to die would just be horrible, a terrible waste.

Kate's mind went over the rest of the group. Dwalin wasn't exactly a friend, especially not after his harsh words back at the goblins' front gate, but his brother was a good friend, a sort of grandfather figure with his advice and kind manners. Dori had all but adopted her into the family. He acted like an older brother and somehow it felt rather natural to treat him like one. Nori could be nice as well as long as he remembered to keep his hands to himself and away from her belongings, but Ori had become a good friend as well, almost like another sibling. The rest of the gang were just friends, Kate supposed, and she had become somewhat attached to them. Bugger these dwarves and their ways to wriggle their way into one's heart! Somehow things had been far less complicated, so much easier, when she had just been thoroughly disliking them!

Thorin was about to say something, when Bofur's 'What's that?' drew their attention. The entire group turned as one, looking at the source of Bofur's question. Every eye in the cave looked at Bilbo or, more precisely, the sword at his hip, that was glowing a bright blue.

'Goblins!' Thorin spat. The king was already on his feet, drawing Orcrist. 'On your feet!' he barked at the rest. 'Close ranks!'

Kate was being dragged to the centre of the group, pressed in the middle with Ori and Bilbo. Her heart was beating too fast and she was sure the nausea she now experienced was purely fear-induced, but the fear mingled with a fierce determination this time. She could not, would not, go back to that horrible Goblin-town. And she actually loved to live. For the first time since she had been brought to Middle Earth, her fear was a driving force rather than a paralysing one. She would not die here, not in this dark and damp cave. She was going home again.

It was remarkable what a little bit of determination could do. Kate felt her breathing slow down and she grasped her sword a little tighter. She was not a sword master and would probably never become one either, but surely all Dwalin's lessons must have had some use, she supposed, and otherwise she could always fall back on the tried and tested way of sticking them with the pointy end.

She had hardly finished that thought when the goblins came barging in. Kate was right in the middle of the group and therefore unable to do something useful and somehow it made it all the more frightening. All she could see were the goblins, still as ugly as they were before, bearing down on them, shrieking and even laughing as they went.

And then the fight began. It was chaotic, bloody and altogether noisy. Screams and shrieks were echoed against the rocks, sending every noise back at them at least three times. Gandalf's staff was still the only source of light in the cave, for the goblins had apparently not deemed it necessary to take any sort of light with them. The eerie light from the staff made it all seem like something right out of some horror movie and for a moment she was in danger of freezing into place again.

_No, you're not!_ Kate forcefully told herself. _You're going to survive. You're going to get out of these bloody mountains and you're going to get home!_

The ranks broke when Dwalin was forced to jump out of the way of an oncoming orc whose life ambition it seemed to be to cut the warrior in half. Kate now found herself right in the very middle of a battle she did most certainly not want to be in. But what she wanted was not the question now. Her sword seemed to be taking on a life of its own, as if it remembered Dwalin's lessons even when its owner did not. That was the only kind of explanation that made any sense to her at all, because she was sure she did not remember a thing at all.

Time lost all meaning. There was only the noise of shrieking goblins, steel on steel and her own frantic heartbeat that she was sure was so loud that it would be audible on the other side of the mountains. She knew she had killed goblins, possibly more than one, but it was so hard to tell. She just stabbed, sliced and dodged and could not for the life of her tell how many she had even hit.

By the time that there appeared to be not a single goblin left Kate was trembling, looking at her sword in disbelief. The blade was smeared with black blood, blood that she had spilled. The message landed home only then: she had killed. No matter how evil the goblins or how necessary the action had been, she, Kate Andrews, had ended the life of at least one, probably more than one though, living, thinking being. The thought instantly made her sick and she had to throw up where she stood.

It was only when she was done that she realised that someone had patiently kept her hair away from her face. She looked up to find the solemn face of her teacher staring back at her.

'Is it always this bad?' Kate asked softly, forcing herself not to look at the carnage they had created.

There was no judgement in Dwalin's eyes now and for that the advisor was grateful. 'It does not get easier, lassie,' he replied, which was not exactly an answer to her question, but still told her everything she needed to know. 'You'll learn to bear it.'

She tried to swallow the bitter taste out of her mouth. 'Will I?' she muttered. She did not want to learn to bear it. She only wanted to be Kate Andrews, aspiring journalist, yet she already felt that she could never go back to being that person. That Kate was already gone, left behind at the emergency exit. That Kate had never needed to kill, had never needed to learn how to defend herself with violence. This new Kate had and she did not like it one bit.

Dwalin did not answer the question. 'Go and get your bag, lass,' he told her. 'It's time we moved out.'

Thorin was already gathering the others. No one seemed to have been injured too badly and whatever injuries had been sustained would need to wait until they were somewhere safe. Kate didn't like that, but she knew it was necessary. And she wanted to get out of this place of death as soon as she possibly could, preferably before the goblins' reinforcements would arrive. And so she picked up her rucksack and followed the others as they left. She did not once look back.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _We're lost in the dark. I'm wondering if this has some double meaning for me as well._

* * *

**I know I'm messing around with the whole Goblin-town part here, but according to Tolkien they did spend two days under the mountains, so I opted on making this sequence a bit longer. I hope you won't mind.**

**Next time: racing for the back door. Until then, leave me a review to let me know what you thought about this chapter? What did you like, what did you dislike? I'd love to hear.**


	21. Chapter 21 Backing Out

**As promised, here is the new chapter. I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying it so far, really I am. And to **_**kaia**_**: of course Kate is still clinging to the thought of getting home again. To her this is all real and not the material of fanfiction. And you're wrong about Gandalf's motivations and intentions by the way. I know what you're implying, but that idea sounded rather lame to me, so that's not what he intended. Really.**

**Anyway, enough of my rambling. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**Backing Out**

_For as long as I could remember I had never been really afraid of the dark. Of course I had the oh-help-there's-a-wolf-hiding-under-my-bed-as-soon -as-the-light-goes-out period as a child, but I eventually grew out of that. In fact, I seemed to sleep better in complete darkness than with a light on, or so we discovered soon enough._

_I'm afraid to say that after that trek through the dark under the Misty Mountains things never were quite the same. We were running through tunnels that were all long, all dark and all infested with the foul smell of the goblins. We only had the light of Gandalf's staff to guide us and sometimes he needed to take away even that last light in order to prevent the goblins from finding out where we were. _

_I'm quite sure I became quite paranoid over time. Every shadow was a goblin and every sound was a goblin sneaking up behind us to finish us off before we even had the chance to defend ourselves. I longed for the daylight and found myself wondering on more than one occasion how dwarves did it: living under the mountains, going without daylight for days on end. In that moment I was quite sure I would never be able to do that myself._

_Oh, and I can almost hear you laughing as you read this, thinking it to be quite absurd coming from the woman who can call herself Queen _under_ the Mountain. And I suppose it is absurd. But Erebor is so vastly different from the cold darkness of the goblin realm in the Misty Mountains and do not fear, I love the Mountain with all my heart, even though I still do have a love of the light of day as well, so you know where you got it from, my dearest Duria._

_But back then the darkness was mostly frightening and I just found myself wishing for a way out…_

**Thorin**

Time didn't seem to mean anything at all in these dark places. Even Thorin, being a dwarf, felt uncomfortable in these tunnels. The darkness weighed heavy on all of them and the threat of goblins didn't make this any better. He was at the back of the column, protecting their rear while Gandalf took the front. The wizard seemed to know where he was going or he at least pretended to know. It made Thorin feel a bit more at ease, if only a bit.

No one had gotten seriously injured in the goblin attack and he had whispered a quick thanks to Mahal for that stroke of luck. It were mere scratches this time, but that didn't stop him from worrying over the other injuries that had been sustained during their flight. Balin's wound was slowing him down, even if the stubborn old dwarf would be the last one to admit it. He was forcing himself onwards, never showing his weakness. Bofur was all but hopping like a limp rabbit, as Kate had once so eloquently phrased it, and Dori's bandage was turning rather red far too quickly for Thorin's liking. Bombur had repeatedly been hit by the goblins' whips, but seemed to be more or less all right. As long as they could keep the wounds clean, he would be all right, and the same was true for Miss Andrews.

Thorin could only just make out her shape as she ran beside Nori. She had surprised him in the fight. It was almost as if the Kate they knew had been replaced by someone else wielding that blade. Her skills were still worse than bad, but fortunately the goblins had all made the terrible mistake of thinking that a woman could not possibly know how to handle a sword and the rest of the group had watched out for the advisor, resulting in her coming out alive and pretty much unscathed, save for a scratch on her left arm. But as soon as they managed to make it out of these cursed mountains he would need to ask Dwalin to keep teaching her. If Azog was really on their trail – and he did not really doubt that anymore – then they would all need to learn how to defend themselves or they would be done for.

The long flight through the tunnels gave him more than enough time to think unfortunately and in the darkness he could feel the doubts creeping up at him, wriggling their way right into his heart and mind. Because if Azog was after them, then a good few things Kate had told him would be true as well. The dwarf found it all too easy now to remember the words she had spoken back in Rivendell, her theory that one of Thorin's own kin had betrayed the quest to the orcs. And if that was the case, then Azog would find him wherever he went. How would he ever succeed in leading his company back to Erebor if he had all the orcs that Defiler could command on his heels? It would be a fool's errand, even if they somehow managed to ever come out of this dreadful place again.

But turning back was still not much of an option. Balin would reason that they had come this far already. To go back now, after everything they had already seen, that would be admitting defeat, giving up before the battle had even begun. And that was not in a dwarf's nature. And if Thorin had not been the leader of this company he would have fiercely protested against the very notion of abandoning the quest. In fact, he might have even the one to be telling the leader that he was a coward. But he was the leader now and he was responsible for these men. It was his responsibility to weigh the risks, to decide what was best for them. Unfortunately he knew they only obeyed him as long as he made no mention of giving up on their mission. Sometimes it had its downsides belonging to the most stubborn race of Middle Earth.

They rested in a small cave eventually. Thorin would have preferred to press on, but it had most likely been hours since they had properly rested. The short respite in the other cave did not really count, since no one had actually rested there. And only Mahal knew how few hours they had gotten before they were abducted from the cave they had taken shelter in. Even the dwarves in the company looked dead on their feet. And so he reluctantly agreed to stop for a few hours, as long as at least three people would stand watch. He would not want to be surprised again. There had been far too many of those on this journey already.

'Are you sure that we lost them?' he demanded of Gandalf.

The wizard, who was obviously not used to having his decisions and judgement questioned sent him a stern look by the light of his staff. 'Quite sure, Thorin Oakenshield. And if you cannot take my word for it, then you are quite welcome to track back and see it for yourself!' If smoking would not have given their location away to the goblins, Thorin was quite sure he would have taken to hide behind his beloved smokescreen again. As it was he just favoured the dwarf king with as stern a look as he could manage.

Thorin knew when to back off. This wasn't worth it getting into an argument over. No doubt there would be a lot of arguing going on once they got out of here, Gandalf's altogether mysterious disappearance at the emergency exit being at the very top of the list of things to discuss.

As it was, he just settled down on a rock near the exit of the cave and prepared for a few hours watch. The others were settling down now, grateful for the break. Gandalf and Nori were the other two watchers, but they were a good distance away. Anyway, Thorin was not in the mood to talk, not really.

It would, however, seem that Mr Baggins and Miss Andrews were not yet ready to go to sleep. The two had taken a spot near Thorin and were talking in low whispers that they probably thought were soft enough not to wake the others. But this was a cave under the mountains and sound carried far here. Thorin could follow their conversation with ease if he wanted to.

'How did you do it?' Kate wondered.

'Do what?' Mr Baggins asked, clearly not understanding what the advisor had meant by that question.

'Sneak back out to find Gandalf,' she clarified. 'Can't have been easy with all those goblins lurking around.'

'I'll have you know that it wasn't.' The hobbit sounded distinctly ruffled, but with the underlying tone of someone who is secretly proud of their achievement. He sounded rather like a child. In fact, he sounded very much like a younger Fíli when he had announced that had finally learned to braid his own hair and kept insisting that it wasn't that difficult, even when he was clearly waiting for someone to tell him that it was very hard. Thorin had to bite back a guffaw at that memory.

'So, how'd you do it?' Kate urged.

'I just walked back the way we came and that was not so hard. There weren't any goblins there, not that I could see them anyway.' The burglar sounded more and more like Fíli by the second. 'But there were quite a lot of them near the emergency exit and they were all laughing and blocking the door, which by then, naturally, was closed again.'

Thorin could hear Kate snort. 'I bet,' she muttered. 'Typical case of Murphy's Law, if you ask me.'

Thorin had no idea what Murphy's Law was. Fortunately for him, neither had the hobbit. 'Murphy's Law?'

'Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong,' she explained. 'So far, that seems to sum this journey up to perfection,' she added in a low growl.

Thorin could not help but agree with her on that one. No matter what he had done – and he had done very much. Mahal, he had even agreed to listen to Miss Andrews's advice in order to make this quest succeed – somehow, somewhere along the road things eventually went completely pear-shaped and he could not come up with one good reason why. He had to put up with a wizard's antics, a useless woman and an even more useless hobbit in his company and the annoyingly propriety of elves. He had been chased by wargs and orcs, abducted by goblins and almost tossed into a ravine by stone giants. All in all things had been pretty bad already and they were hardly halfway to the Lonely Mountain. And now it was being topped off by the fact that Azog the Defiler was apparently not as dead as he had believed him to be. That in itself was bad enough, but of course Azog could not just be satisfied with being alive, he had to keep up this bloody feud as well.

_Now _you_'re doing it too!_ he scolded himself half a second later. He had no idea when he had begun to copy both the advisor's sarcasm and the strange words she used, but it was a rather alarming development, a clear sign that he had spent too much time in her company when he did not even like her.

'Too true,' the hobbit muttered darkly.

'Well, tell me, how did you get out?' Kate sounded a bit impatient now. Like Thorin, she must be suspecting that the hobbit was delaying on purpose, making her ask for the story rather than telling it immediately for the maximum effect.

'Well, I could not just sneak past them and the door was firmly shot, so I had no choice but to wait until they either left or opened the door themselves,' Bilbo told. 'And they took awfully long and they were joking about how easy it was to catch us all. They had never even seen Gandalf it would seem, because they never mentioned him at all.'

'So, if they were so busy mocking us whilst guarding that emergency exit of theirs, how did you get past them?' Miss Andrews sounded a bit amused now, even if it was still laced with weariness. Thorin thought it a fair guess to say that she knew precisely what the hobbit was doing.

'I was getting there,' the burglar said, sounding a bit annoyed now that the advisor had interrupted his tale. 'Eventually there was a large group coming back saying that they were ordered to bring back the ponies and luggage that was still in the cave, so they ordered the goblins that were guarding the door to open it for them. So they opened the door and went into the cave and I was very scared, because even though the door was open now, the cave was full of goblins and I had no idea how I would slip past them.'

'I bet,' Kate muttered. 'This place is entirely too full of goblins for my taste. Or for anyone's taste for that matter.'

Thorin could not help but agree with that assessment. Maybe, once, if the Mountain was retaken, someone should do something about this plague of goblins in the Misty Mountains. He had known that they lived in these parts himself too, but the numbers that had assembled in the throne room of the Great Goblin had driven the message home that there were far more of them than he had thought. And it was not a nice surprise.

'In the end I told myself that I should be brave, because you were facing far worse down there,' Bilbo went on after having muttered his own agreement. 'So I kept to the walls and the shadows and sneaked back into the cave and I believe that they never as much as saw me. They were too preoccupied discussing what horrible things they would do to you once they got back.'

Thorin found himself surprised for the second time in a day and once again by someone he had previously deemed next to useless. He had never even believed that the burglar would even make it back to the emergency exit when Nori had first told him of the task he had given Mr Baggins. It had been the right thing to do – the only thing to do even – he had agreed, but he had thought it a fool's errand, doomed to fail right from the start.

But maybe Gandalf had been in his right mind when he had selected the burglar after all. Because Bilbo had made it back to the cave past goblins and through dark tunnels. He had done what he had been tasked to do. Maybe, just maybe mind, it had not been such a bad idea to take him with them on this journey.

'Well, as you see, there's not too much harm done,' Miss Andrews remarked with an enthusiasm that Thorin did not believe to be quite genuine. 'We're all still in once piece. Was Gandalf still in the cave?'

'He was,' Bilbo confirmed. 'He had been hiding behind a large rock that was as grey as his robes and the goblins missed out on him altogether. I myself had nearly not seen him at all, had he not shown himself after the goblins had left.'

'I still can't think of one good reason why he left us behind in the first place,' Kate growled. 'He didn't even help when we were fighting at all. Why would he do such a thing?' There was frustration audible now and Thorin could understand that only too well. He experienced that himself too. Because it was strange behaviour on the wizard's part. The dwarf had seen him use his magical fireworks often enough – he had used them in the very heart of Goblin-town even – but when they had been attacked Gandalf had done nothing. Instead of fighting he had hidden behind a rock!

A look over his shoulder allowed him to see Mr Baggins shrug. 'I don't know. But he's Gandalf. He has a reason for everything he does, doesn't he?'

'I should bloody well hope so!' Kate exclaimed. Realising she had spoken too loudly, she continued in a softer voice: 'It would be nice though if he shared his motives with the rest of us from time to time, because so far I have not been able to make much sense of everything that has happened to us.'

Bilbo favoured her with a quizzical look. 'What do you mean?'

'Well, my presence here for starters,' she began. 'His determination to go to the elves for another.' She hesitated for a moment. 'I just have this feeling that he knows far more than any of us and that for reasons far beyond my comprehension he chooses not to share that with the rest of this company. I don't know why and it bothers me.'

Bilbo may not really understand what the advisor meant, but Thorin did. And he agreed. On the first day of the journey, he remembered, Kate had cornered the wizard and demanded answers of him. Of course she had been left almost empty-handed, but she – and Thorin, since he had been eavesdropping on them – had learned that day that the advisor was not the only one to possess the knowledge for which she had been brought here. Thorin had used that as a reason to send her back home in the next argument he had with the wizard, but of course Gandalf had hidden behind his smokescreen, saying that he was sure Miss Andrews had a lot more to offer than just her knowledge.

And true, the king had to admit that, after the initial reluctance, Miss Andrews had held up her end of the bargain. No, that was not what was bothering him now. It was Gandalf that was the problem here. Thorin was by now quite convinced that the wizard indeed knew every last detail of the story Kate knew, but he had never really acted on it. He had pretended not to know the message on the map and he had almost looked surprised when Kate and Thorin had gone to him to discuss taking another route over the mountains, as if he had not heard about the front gate at all, or its changed location. Sometimes he made it too easy for Thorin to forget all about his knowledge, which was just as extensive as Miss Andrews's.

'Well, he might have good reason to?' Bilbo's supposedly certain statement came out as a question nonetheless. The hobbit's determination to rely on the wizard might be touching, but Thorin mostly thought them naïve.

'Quite possibly,' Miss Andrews agreed. 'Doesn't mean we have to like it though.'

'Have you given any more thought to my offer?' The halfling abruptly changed the subject. 'To come with me to the Shire?'

Kate snorted. 'In the past twenty-four hours I have been abducted, whipped across the face, caught up in a fight and to top it off I have been running through dark tunnels for hours at a time. I haven't exactly had a lot of time to think. But even if I had, there's not really to think about anyway. I've made my decision.' She was silent for a while. 'But it seems you're still determined to leave when you can?'

The hobbit shrugged. 'What good is me staying here?' he asked, obviously meaning that as a rhetorical question.

'Well, it seems you have already forgotten about the fact that you sneaked past a large group of goblins, but I have not,' Kate pointed out. 'You do make for a good burglar, Bilbo. And Thorin, well, he may be a bit rough around the edges, but I think he did not really mean what he said to you back on the plateau. We were all on edge, soaked and scared there. I don't think any of us can be blamed for something we say in the heat of such a moment.'

Now that caused the dwarf to frown. Since when was the advisor in the habit of standing up for him? Or was this just her trying to keep Bilbo Baggins in this group, as her book would probably say? Sometimes one could read her face like it was a book open for everyone to see, but guessing her motives for acting as she did was another matter entirely. What was she thinking?

Fortunately Thorin wasn't the only one to notice that change of heart. 'The Great Goblin was right, wasn't he? About you and him?'

Kate made a sound as if she was choking. 'What? _No_! How on earth would you even reach such a… far-fetched conclusion?'

'You're wearing his coat,' Bilbo countered.

That made Thorin swivel around in shock. And the halfling spoke the truth. Miss Andrews was still wrapped up in his coat he had given her some hours before they had been attacked. There had not been an opportunity for her to give it back yet and she must have forgotten about it as well. Or, not entirely forgotten, since she had put a belt around her waist to stop herself from drowning in the garment. But in the given circumstances clothing had been at the very bottom of either of their list of priorities. It was only now that they were having a moment to sit down that the implications of this started seeping through. And those implications might yet prove to be food for the gossip that had already started to go round in this company.

Kate didn't seem to be thinking much of it. She arched an eyebrow. 'It's a coat,' she pointed out. 'Hardly a sign of affection.'

What kind of strange world did she come from? Thorin found himself seriously wondering about that. Of course he had wondered about where she came from – briefly, mind you – but he had always believed their worlds to be remotely similar.

'Ehm…' Mr Baggins seemed to disagree, if his facial expression was anything to go by.

There wasn't much light to see by, but Thorin didn't need that to recognise the murderous look that now was directed at the hobbit. 'It was a matter of effectiveness,' she told him sternly. 'My coat was still soaking wet, his wasn't. I might have caught a cold without it and that would have seriously delayed the quest. There is nothing more to it and you should not think there was. Quite frankly, the notion is ridiculous.'

And Thorin whole-heartedly agreed with that. He might even have gotten up and said that, had he not been stopped from doing so by the noise of footsteps coming down the tunnel. He was on his feet the next second. 'Get up!' he bellowed at his company, the volume no longer an issue now. 'We're under attack!'

**Kate**

Kate hardly had a second to think after Thorin's warning before the first goblins entered the small cave. Hardly anyone was on their feet already, save for the people that had been ordered to stand guard. The fear threatened to grip her by the throat, but she squashed it. This was neither the time nor place for a panic attack. The only ones to benefit from that would be the goblins and she wasn't in the habit of giving them what they wanted.

_You can do this_, she told herself as she picked up her sword. The images of the previous fight she had been in tried to find their way back to the forefront of her mind, but she squashed those too. _Not right now_.

It was frightening and chaotic all over again and really it made her want to run as fast as she could, but she had no idea where to run to and so she stood her ground, using her sword to keep the goblins away from her. She had no ideas what the others were doing and at the moment she could not really care. The moment she allowed herself to look for them would be the moment she got distracted and that just might cost her life. Now that was a prospect she didn't find herself looking forward to.

In hindsight she would never be able to say how long the fight lasted. It could have been only minutes, but it could also have been hours. Time didn't really mean anything anymore anyway. There was just the fighting, dodging blows and dealing them to her attackers, that seemed to keep coming, regardless of how many of them had been killed. Kate had no idea where they were coming from, but that too was not important. Nothing seemed to matter apart from the fighting.

Kate was vaguely aware that there was someone fighting beside her and that this someone had more than once deflected a blow that would have finished her, because her skills were so severely lacking. But there was not even time for a sideward glance to learn the identity of her guardian angel. That too would have to wait until they got themselves out of this bloody mess.

The fight ended as abruptly as it had begun. There was a flash of light, coming from somewhere to her left. It nearly blinded her and she shielded her eyes in a reflex. The bright light hurt her eyes after so long a time in the darkness. It was only after she had raised her hands to protect her eyes that she realised she had left the rest of her body wide open for attacks. Only a very foolish goblin would not make use of such an advantage and she prepared herself for the pain their blades would doubtlessly cause.

But the pain never came. There was yelping and shrieking from the goblins and Kate removed her hands from her eyes. The cave was still bathing in the light from Gandalf's staff and she had to blink a few times to see anything at all, but when she could, she could see the goblins howling in pain. Some of them had fallen to the ground as if the light had physically hurt them and others were making a run for it as fast as they possibly could.

'Follow me, everybody!' Gandalf shouted. He was already taking the lead and the company wasted no time in running after him. Kate herself only paused to grab her rucksack from the ground – there was just no way that she would be leaving that behind – and then sprinted after the rest, catching up with Nori at the beginning of the tunnel that Gandalf had chosen to take.

'Are you injured?' he asked.

'Not that I know of,' Kate replied, falling into step with him. If ever she was grateful for taking the time to work out when she was still in her own world, it was now. Had she not done so, she would surely have been out of breath already. 'How about you?'

Nori gave her a brilliant smile. 'Perfectly fine,' he assured her.

The light on Gandalf's staff had faded to only the bare minimum again, but it was enough to recognise Nori's weapon, the very same blade she had seen from the corner of her eyes several times while they were fighting. 'You were the one looking out for me during the fight?' She tried not to sound too surprised, but it seeped through in her voice all the same. Before this her relationship with Nori had been ambivalent to say the least, especially since he had tried to make off with some of her belongings while they were in Rivendell. The tongue-lashing she had given him for it was surely heard all over Eriador and things had been kind of awkward ever since, even when she had grown closer to Nori's brothers.

Nori gave her a lopsided grin. 'I'll have to watch out for my little sister, don't I?' he said. 'Dori would have my head if I didn't,' he added as an afterthought.

'Of that I have no doubt,' Kate agreed.

They ran on in silence, leaving Kate some time to think over Nori's words. She had already known the Ri brothers had come to regard her as something close to a sibling, but it had always been an unspoken agreement, something that was acted on, but never really spoken about. It made her feel comfortable, protected even. But to hear it put into the spoken word gave her a warm feeling inside. In a strange way this had created something that tied her to this world, gave her a place of her own in this world where she did not belong.

_Yes, keep this up and the next thing you know you won't be going back home at all_, she scolded herself the next moment. _This is not one of your stupid bloody fanfictions, girl. Get a grip_. And she needed to. Because she had been keeping her distance from the company on purpose. To leave them after the quest would only be so much harder if she had actually started to like some of them, never mind that she formed some kind of sibling bond with three of them. And no matter what she had tried to tell herself over the past few months, leaving would already be difficult, because these dwarves and even the hobbit had wriggled their way into her heart without her even noticing. _Bugger these dwarves_. She wasn't sure how many times she had thought that already, but it had to be more times than she actually cared to count.

They kept up a quick pace that was exhausting for everyone, especially the ones that were already wounded, like poor old Balin, but no one complained, because exhaustion was still preferable over getting killed by goblins. Kate could not hear or see a sign of their pursuers and she was grateful for it. It allowed her to believe that just maybe they had lost them again. No doubt they would be found again when they stopped, so even when her lungs started screaming for more air and her legs started cramping she did not slow down. It was quite remarkable what a body could deal with when in danger, really.

She tried to keep her mind busy by trying to determine how much time had passed, but it was useless. Here in the dark it was hard to tell the time of day and all this running, resting, fighting and running again had thrown her off balance enough as it was. The time was not her main concern then and it should not be now.

Eventually Gandalf came to a halt and he beckoned them to do the same. They all grouped around him.

'What now, wizard?' Thorin demanded. Kate had lost sight of him during their flight, but his mood had definitely not been improving. Not that this very much surprised the advisor. She herself wasn't in the highest spirits and the same could be said for every other member of the company. Dwarves may be hardy folk, she had come to learn, but they had all gone without food and sleep for God knows how long and they were being chased through these cursed mountains with goblins on their heels to top it off nicely. It was hardly a surprise no one was feeling exceptionally merry right now.

'Now, Thorin Oakenshield, we will need to find a way to get through the back gate somehow.' Kate had come to recognise this tone as a sign that the wizard was at least slightly irritated. He tended to take on such tones the moment someone seemed to be questioning his decisions, as Thorin had just done.

'I'm not liking the sound of this,' someone commented. It was hard to see anything, but Kate thought it would be a safe bet to say that it was Glóin.

'There are guards on the door, aren't there?' Dori chimed in.

'Good chance they sent down extra guards to it when they learned that we were doing a runner,' Kate heard herself say. 'They must know these tunnels far better than we do. No doubt they could have used shortcuts.' It was an unwelcome thought, but she did remember reading something about the company needing to get past guards at the back door. The book however had failed to mention how many there would be, but taken into consideration that their group had been responsible for the death of the Great Goblin, the goblins were extremely pissed off. They would not like to take chances and by now they had to suspect where the company was heading.

Thorin's look darkened, if that was even possible. He had not really looked very pleased before then anyway. 'Is that true?' he demanded of Gandalf, clearly hoping for a no.

Unfortunately they had no such luck. 'We did need to make a few detours in order to avoid getting caught by goblins,' the wizard replied, leaning on his staff as if for all the world they were only discussing today's weather conditions and not their escape from hundreds, possibly thousands, of seriously annoyed goblins. 'It is quite possible for them to have gotten to the back door long before now.'

Thorin looked like he might want to hit the wizard with something and Kate shared the sentiment. 'Well, isn't that just bloody brilliant of you?' she snorted. 'Because we could as well have taken the shortcuts for all the good those detours seemed to have done. And then we would have been out of this cursed place before we gave the goblins the opportunity to cut us off!' She knew she was a bit unreasonable now, but she was never too nice when her energy was running out. Kate was pretty sure that the adrenaline was the only thing that kept her going right now and she was grateful for it, because it allowed her to do what needed to be done.

Most of the dwarves stared at her after this and for a moment the journalist wasn't quite sure why. Then she recalled that she usually only spoke in tones like this to Thorin and not Gandalf. _Crap_.

'Please tell me you at least got some sort of plan?' she begged.

'Those lights looked rather impressive, Mr Gandalf,' Dori spoke up. 'Would that not help us in getting past the guards?'

All eyes now settled on the wizard and he was more or less forced to admit that this approach might have some chance of success. 'But you will still need your swords to cut through their last defences,' the finished.

'Charming,' Kate commented. 'You mean to say that you can't just all blow them off their feet and knock them right into the middle of next week while you're at it?' She remembered seeing the wizard doing that in the movie and could not for the life of her understand why he would suddenly be incapable of repeating that rather impressive feat.

And apparently the wizard too had reached the end of his patience. 'No, Miss Andrews, that is something I am not capable of doing!' He had to keep his voice hushed just in case there were still goblins lurking about, but the tone managed to convey the message perfectly anyway. 'You will have to play your own part or else you'll just have to stay here and wait for the goblins to find you.'

This managed to extract a low growl from Nori's throat and Dori took half a step sideward, placing him right in front of Kate. 'We're going to pretend that we did not hear that, wizard,' Nori said. No one in his right mind would miss out on the angry, threatening tone. 'That's our sister you're talking about and if I hear such a thing one more time, you're going to regret it.' Dori and Ori nodded their agreement.

For a moment Kate was flabbergasted. How on earth had this come about? And, more importantly, how had it come she had completely missed out on this development? Sure, she knew Dori had been looking out for her – or perhaps _fussing over her_ was a better way of phrasing it – ever since she had shoved Ori out of the way of that warg, and she had grown close to the three brothers ever since. Nori had gone as far as to call her a little sister for who he looked out in a fight, but this, this protectiveness was of another nature altogether. It was endearing and at the same time it was infuriating. She thought she had seen it all when Thorin started to play the protector when visiting Rivendell. Clearly she had been mistaken.

The rest of the company did not seem the least bit surprised, which would suggest that they had all known about this new sibling bond that had been formed without Kate's knowledge or consent. She was trying to decide whether this made things better or only worse.

But it was definitely irritating and that was something she did not need to think on at all. So she tried to shove Dori out of the way and tried to wriggle out of the protective grasp his younger brother had on her waist. 'Knock it off, will you?' she snapped irritably at the pair of them. 'I can hold my own, just in case you'd forgotten. Maybe not in a fight with swords, but words are easy enough.' There was some sniggering from around the group, which she pointedly ignored. 'We need to get out of here ASAP and…'

'ASAP?' Kíli asked. 'What in Durin's name is that?'

'As soon as possible,' she explained, before continuing where she left off. 'Point is, we need to get out and the longer we're standing here twiddling our thumbs and getting wound up over the words of a wizard, the more guards there will be on those doors. If we wish to avoid them, we had better get moving. As in right now,' she added when no one seemed to be preparing to do something.

Thorin was the first to act. He gave a curt nod and directed his attention towards the wizard again. 'You know the way out?' he demanded.

A curt nod was the reply.

'Then lead on.' The dwarf king didn't seem to like the idea any better than any of the others, but there wasn't really any choice in all this. They had to get out of this place before their chances of escape would grow even slimmer. Of course both book and movie claimed that they would come out of this alive and relatively unscathed, but Kate knew better than to rely on her knowledge these days. It hadn't warned her for the emergency exit and for all she knew it could be wrong about the back door as well. At any rate she had no ambition to find out what would happen if they lingered here any longer, but it would just so happen that these dwarves were very difficult to spur into action. Fortunately Thorin seemed to have taken her recent advice to grow himself a brain seriously.

Gandalf led them down yet another tunnel. They were descending for real, Kate could tell. It was easier to run now, even if the real challenge now was to not trip over her own feet. And really, it wasn't long before she could see light at the end of the tunnel.

And no, this was not the headlight of an oncoming train, but there was still the minor complication of goblin guards at the end of this tunnel. Thorin gave Kíli and his bow a pointed look and then beckoned towards the guards without saying as much as a word. The intent was clear though.

The guards, positioned with their backs towards the company, were wholly unsuspecting. Kíli's first arrow took out the first one and before his friend had even the chance to notice that something was amiss, he too fell to the ground with an arrow sticking out of his back, as dead as the proverbial doornail.

'That was a stroke of luck,' Fíli commented. There was a twinkle in his eyes again that had not been there while they had been the goblins' honoured guests.

But this was yet one of those occasions that proved that cheering in advance was most definitely not a wise thing to be doing. They hurried down the corridor and came into the cave that led to the back door on the other end of it. It was open, the bright light of day flooding in and Kate would almost have sighed in relief, were it not that there were at least a hundred goblins – but quite possibly a whole lot more than that – between them and said door.

'Bloody hell,' she whispered in shock.

'Mahal's hammer!' Nori agreed, a little louder, beside her.

The rest of the company just stared. They were outnumbered ten to one and Kate didn't need to see the others' faces to know that this was by no means a good thing. She had no idea what the odds had been whilst they had been fighting in the dark caves, but something told her that they had been slightly better.

'Maybe we should have…' she began softly.

But Gandalf interjected. 'Cover your eyes,' he warned.

Kate was about to ask what he meant by that, but the answer came soon enough. The light on Gandalf's staff intensified and bathed the cave in light that was as bright or brighter as the light of day. The effect was immediate: the goblins started yelping and screaming as if the wizard had been stabbing their eyes out instead of just lighting his staff up a little. But maybe for them those two things were remarkably similar. After all, Kate did remember reading about goblins having no love of daylight at all.

'Run!' Gandalf's command surely must be audible at the other side of the mountains. At least it would succeed in alerting every goblin in this blasted realm to their whereabouts.

But none of that mattered now. Because there was the door and most of the guards in front of it were crawling on the ground like a bunch of overgrown and very ugly cry-babies. And Kate ran. Nori was on her left side, cutting off several heads while he was at it, at least of those goblins who were still trying to hinder their flight. Thorin was on her other side, putting Orcrist to good use with one hand, while dragging her with him with the other. His grip on her hand was painful, but for the moment the very least of her concerns. They were so close now! Something scratched her leg, but she hardly felt it anymore. _Run faster, faster!_ Her own thoughts were cheering her on and when she finally crossed the threshold of that bloody door, she felt like she had won the marathon.

The daylight hurt her eyes after having been in darkness for so long. It made her eyes tear and her head ache, but she felt as if the entire mountain range had just been lifted off her shoulders. They had made it out. They had made it out and they were all still alive. None of the company had stopped running yet, but the triumphant laughter she could no longer hold back.

'We did it!' she cheered, sending Thorin a brilliant smile. Who cared about his grumpy attitude when they had just outwitted a bunch of bloodthirsty goblins anyway?

And of course he had to try and dampen her high spirits. 'That we did,' he agreed. That tone would have been more appropriate at the funeral of a close relative than at a successful flight from their enemies. Bloody dwarf.

The group came finally to a halt somewhere downhill in a small clearing between some high pine trees. Everyone was panting and some of them definitely looked a bit worse for wear, but the general mood was cheerful, overly so maybe, because they had escaped and were all still alive.

It was only when the excitement began to die down that Kate finally realised they were missing someone.

* * *

From Thorin's notes: _Where in Durin's name is that troublesome burglar?_

* * *

**So, hopefully that will have put everybody's minds at ease concerning a matter of hobbits and rings, which I have been asked questions about since chapter 16. Sometimes it just takes some time to get to a certain point.**

**Next time Kate's mouth is a lot quicker than her brain and that has some consequences she had not expected. Until then reviews are still more than welcome.**


	22. Chapter 22 Revelation

**Chapter 22**

**Revelation**

_The relief was almost too much. I don't think I had actually realised how very afraid I had truly been when we were still trapped inside those mountains until the fear left me all of a sudden. Maybe fear is a state of mind that you can get used to, up to a point where you can ignore it when you have felt it for too long. Quite frankly, I did not really care about that. As it was, I just felt like singing because we were out of those horrid, dark, stinking, goblin-infested tunnels._

_And no, before you ask, I did not actually burst into song. Bofur started to whistle a tune, but that was as far as the musical element of our escape went. But we were cheerful, laughing and talking too loud and for once we did not care about it. In that moment we felt invincible and more alive than we had felt in a long, long time. It's something one can only feel after having survived one particular dangerous situation, I imagine, which means that most of you will probably know exactly what I am talking about. Really, sometimes I wish you lot would not take after your father so much; diving headfirst into dangerous situations without giving it as much as a second thought. It must be a Durin thing._

_At any rate we were rather happy. The sun was still high in the sky and it was a warm summer's day, which was a nice change from the icy cold that we had experienced within the mountains. Or rather, it was a nice day up to the point that we discovered that our little group no longer counted sixteen people, but only fifteen…_

**Kate**

'Shit!' Kate exclaimed loudly. 'Shit, shit, _shit_!'

Now that got her everyone's undivided attention. Before het outburst everyone had been happy, laughing and cheering over how easy it had been to get away from the goblins. Kate reckoned that either they disagreed about the definition of easy or most of her companions were suffering from instant amnesia. Even Gandalf joined in the instant celebrations. He had pulled out his pipe and was merrily smoking away, smiling serenely. The way he stood there he gave the impression of the indulgent parent allowing his naughty children a bit of fun before he broke up the party.

In this case however it was Kate who put an end to all the laughter by cursing. The group fell silent almost immediately.

'Something the matter, lass?' Balin asked.

The advisor was tempted to roll her eyes at him. Honestly, were they all blind as well as forgetful? 'Haven't you realised yet that we are missing someone?' she demanded.

That got her a few confused look, but fortunately Bofur caught on before she would be forced to bang her head against the nearest tree with exasperation. 'Where's Mr Baggins?' he wondered out loud. 'Where's the burglar?'

'He's not here,' Kíli said.

Kate felt like snapping at him and before she could hold herself back, she had acted on that impulse. 'Thanks for that, Captain Obvious!' she exploded. 'I'm sure we're all very much capable of seeing that for ourselves!'

Ugh, dwarves! If she thought it would actually help if she banged their heads against something solid – and if she thought she had actually the strength to get them into motion, she added to herself – she would have done so a long time ago, starting with their king. But really, now she was mostly angry with herself. Her companions may not know any better, but she certainly should have. She knew the book and she knew the movie and in both of them Bilbo disappeared during their trip through Goblin-town. Of course, she had been rather scared for the whole time and maybe her nerves had been eased somewhat when she learned that Bilbo had managed to find Gandalf and return to them. If anything would have happened, she had told herself, it would have happened then, not later.

_Oh, good grief, will you please calm down?_ common sense snapped at her. _If you know your book so well, you will also know that Bilbo will return to you shortly. So stop making such a fuss._

But Kate didn't think things were just that simple. Goblin-town had been anything but simple and lately her book seemed to become far less reliable than she would like. The goblin fiasco, as she privately dubbed it, was just a good example of just how pear-shaped events could go. That emergency exit had not been in the book. So what if Bilbo got lost under the mountains? What if he got found by goblins? What if he never found the Ring and Gollum just chose to eat him? Truth was that the journalist had grown rather attached to the unwilling burglar and she would really prefer him to just be with them. Maybe it was necessary for him to find the Ring, but at the moment she could not care less about that stupid piece of powerful jewellery. She just wanted Bilbo to be back with the company and the Ring be damned. They could figure out what to do with that later.

For now all that really mattered was that they had somehow managed to lose the burglar. And the others started to realise that too. Thorin looked murderous, although Kate expected that he merely looked like that because Bilbo was causing them trouble and not because he suddenly cared about what happened to him, and Gandalf looked properly horrified. Now that was utterly ridiculous, because he too must know what had happened to Bilbo. Sometimes he really started to annoy her by acting ignorant. It also made her wonder whether he was doing it on purpose, to never let anyone know that he too knew more about the events that were still to come than he was letting on. If that was the case, she could not help but wonder why.

The rest of the group was less than amused too. 'Now he's lost?' Dwalin all but threw his hands into the air in exasperation. 'I thought he was with Dori!'

Dori sent the warrior a look that would have made even the dragon cower in fear, Kate supposed. 'Don't blame me!' he snapped. 'I was trying to drag him away from the fighting, back in the cave, but Gandalf was swinging that sword of his around so fiercely that he almost chopped my head off and I had to let go off him.'

The wizard now looked less than pleased. For some reason Kate felt that he didn't want Bilbo to get lost, which would also mean that he did not want the burglar to find the Ring. Kate could understand that, she supposed, but at least it would be better if Bilbo had it than Gollum or, heaven forbid, those awful goblins.

'Why did you not find him after?' Gandalf demanded.

'I would have liked to see you try!' Dori was quite a force to be reckoned with when properly angered, the advisor realised, and she was glad that he seemed to be on her side right now. Maybe it was just the natural result of having to look after two younger brothers, one of which surely had what one would call a knack for trouble. 'There were goblins fighting and biting in the dark and everybody was falling over bodies and hitting one another! Then you were swinging Glamdring very near my head and Thorin was stabbing here, there and everywhere with Orcrist. And then all of a sudden you gave one of your blinding flashes and then you shouted that everybody should follow you. And everybody ought to have followed!'

'You should have checked it!' This was rapidly becoming a full-blown fight.

'Knock it off, will you!' She had not given herself permission to speak, but when she checked the words had already come rolling out of her mouth. 'You're standing there fighting like a bunch of headless chickens instead of the adults you're supposed to be!' She blamed the exhaustion for this. Normally she had a slightly better control over her own words. Control was practically non-existent right now.

'Then what would you have us do?' Dwalin questioned. Now that they were out of trouble it was apparently okay for him to start snapping at her again, eyes narrowed in suspicion. 'Go back to look for him?'

'I was going to suggest no such thing!' Kate snapped. No matter how much she worried that these events would not unfold like the story she knew, even she could tell it would be beyond foolish to venture back into the goblins' realm. 'But we can't just go on without him either, now, can we?' She held his gaze, silently challenging him.

Good grief, that dwarf was becoming a bother. Oh well, who was she fooling really? His distrust still hurt, painfully so. She had believed Dwalin to be one of those who was starting to like her, if his patient sword fighting lessons were any indication at least. But that book had become an obstacle and she almost wished she had changed her mind that day. Why could she not have snatched another book off the table before she had exited the house, some Harry Potter novel or something?

'He's been more trouble than use so far,' the warrior countered. 'We're best rid of him.' _And of you_. Those words were not spoken, but Kate had become quite skilled in reading between the lines.

But she was saved from having to say something by Gandalf. If Dori was a force to be reckoned with when in anger, Gandalf was a force to be avoided when mad. 'I don't bring things or people that are of no use, Dwalin!' he bellowed. 'Now either you help me to look for him, or I am going back alone and you are quite welcome to sort out this mess yourselves!'

It wasn't just Dwalin that got mad over this. Several of the others were a little more than displeased as well. 'You want us to go back into those dreaded mountains, wizard?' That was Thorin, whose glare was at least a perfect match for Gandalf's and Dwalin's. Keep this up and it might just turn into a glaring match here.

'If that is what it takes to find Bilbo Baggins,' the wizard replied calmly, seemingly unaware of the anger this caused among the dwarves. He was still leaning on that staff of his, looking slightly worried, but not too much.

And why keep up this act? Kate frowned as she studied the tallest member of the company. He knew the book as well as she did, but he was behaving as if he had no idea. The longer that dragged on, the more annoying it became.

'Oh, drop the bloody act, Gandalf!' she exploded before any of the others had the chance to say something. 'You know as well as I do that Bilbo will soon be with us again!'

The silence was deafening. It was one of the loudest silences Kate had ever heard in her life and she had heard a good few. She was uncomfortably aware of all the dwarves' eyes on her, wondering what in Durin's name she was going on about.

But she found that she really could not care anymore about all that. She was just angry now and all this secrecy was getting on her nerves, badly. True, she understood perfectly why Thorin wanted her to keep quiet about her knowledge. Had their roles been reversed, she might have preferred him to keep his mouth firmly shut as well. But their roles were not reversed and right now she had just about enough of it, enough of those questioning glances that silently asked what she was even doing here, enough of them thinking that she had no real place amongst them and certainly more than enough of Thorin's stubborn refusal to believe her when her words didn't suit him. Had she been any less tired, she would probably have taken the time to think this over before she gave in to her anger and frustration, but right now she was tired, and mad. And that had never proven to be an ideal combination.

'I think that perhaps we should take this discussion somewhere else, don't you think, Miss Andrews?' Gandalf asked pleasantly. But he did not fool her. His smile had become rather fixed all of a sudden.

'No need,' she all but snapped. 'I'm done with all the secrecy. Why the bloody cloak and dagger in the first place? Why _do_ you want to keep them from finding out?' Now she felt at least remotely pleased with herself. Even if Gandalf somehow managed to slap this discussion down, they were still in the company of a bunch of overly curious dwarves, who would be dying to know what this was all about by now.

'Miss Andrews…' Gandalf began, looking like he would like to do nothing more than blast her all the way into the middle of next week.

Strange that Thorin had yet to say something, Kate observed. A quick glance in his direction taught her that he was just watching the scene unfolding before his eyes, arms folded across his chest. The look in his eyes however was alert. He didn't miss a spell, she was sure.

It was as if he had felt her look, for he turned his head to look at her. And suddenly she wasn't too sure about this anymore. Thorin had a few good reasons for keeping this whole sorry affair silent and he would surely not thank her for blurting it all out in a fit of anger, as she was clearly planning on doing. To her surprise however he gave her a very curt nod, that she would have called reassuring if she had not been one hundred percent sure that that word didn't even show up in the Oakenshield dictionary.

'What are you talking about?' Kíli questioned, looking utterly confused and utterly curious at the same time.

Well, Thorin had more or less given his blessing, so it must be okay to start spilling the beans, she reckoned. 'The fact that I already know what is going to happen,' she told the archer. 'And I know that because in my world all the adventures that we are now having are the stuff of a famous story.'

The impact could not have been bigger if she had just dropped a bomb in their midst. Everyone was staring at her, some with jaws dropped. Kate didn't think they could have been capable of talking even if she had been threatening them with a knife to the throat for pure shock.

And suddenly this didn't feel like such a good idea anymore at all. What if they were taking this as badly as Dwalin and Thorin? What if Balin's calm reaction was just the exception? In that case she had just made a pariah out of herself and the company would avoid her like the plague. She doubted even her new "siblings" would want anything to do with her after this.

But everyone was obviously waiting for her to explain herself, so she went on regardless. 'It's the reason why Gandalf brought me here. Or that's what I'm thinking at least, since he has not yet chosen to explain his actions to anyone. But well, he seems to be thinking I'm some kind of advisor, that I should be helping you to change certain events that are in this book, so that they would not happen.'

Bofur seemed to be the first one to find his tongue again. 'You knew about the goblins?' Was it just her imagination, or was there an underlying tone of wariness to his voice?

Well, it would make sense for him to be suspicious, Kate supposed. It didn't mean that she liked it however. 'I knew there were goblins there and, according to the book, we would camp right on their front porch.'

That seemed to confuse him. 'They called it the emergency exit.'

Kate sighed. 'That's because we avoided the main gate,' she explained. 'We found that one when we were cave-hunting, so we went in search for another cave and since the story never made mention of that bloody emergency exit, I had no way of knowing that there even was one.' After all that had happened it still seemed ridiculous that they had stayed clear of the front gate only to get captured at the emergency exit.

The others were still staring at her as if they had permanently frozen into that posture. All in all it made her very, very uncomfortable. The more her anger faded away, the more room there seemed to be for embarrassment and the desperate wish for the ground to open and swallow her up, even if it would take her straight back into Goblin-town. Anything was better than this fish imitation in at least tenfold.

Well, at least no one was pulling a Dwalin so far and had started shouting at her for possessing knowledge about things that were still to come. She was glad of it, because she was not even sure how much more she could take. Besides, that would not even be fair to be doing. After all, it was hardly her fault that the book existed in the first place and she could not help it either that for some reason Gandalf had deemed it wise to bring her along as the company advisor, even when there had not been much advising going on up to now.

In the end of course it had to be Kíli that broke the silence. 'So, you really _are_ the omniscient one!' he exclaimed.

Kate was torn between wanting laughing in his face and wanting to slap it. She recalled all too well that he had said the exact same thing when she had first arrived. Of course that belief had soon worn off and she had been glad of it. To them she had soon become a burden, only there because the wizard insisted on it. It had suited her, and mostly Thorin, just fine. Of course that was over and done with now that she had started spilling the beans about her knowledge.

She gritted her teeth in frustration. 'No, I'm not!' she said forcefully. 'The real events don't always do what the book says. I don't know everything!' There was an enthusiasm in his eyes that made her want to panic all over again. It made her feel like really everything would come down to her and she was quite sure she did not want that at all. There was already more responsibility resting on her shoulders than she had ever wanted.

The result of her words was not quite what she had meant though. Fíli started to look rather pleased now too. 'But you do know something.'

Why on earth had in seemed like a good idea to reveal her knowledge again? Oh, yes, that's right, because she had been extremely short-tempered and had not been thinking at all before she blurted it out, as per bloody usual. But there was no way she could reasonably deny this, so she nodded. 'Something, yes.'

Of course that had been the wrong thing to say, since more dwarves started to look far too excited for her liking. 'So, you can help us!' Kíli spoke up. 'You can keep us out of trouble!'

Yes, this had definitely not been a good idea. At the moment, Kate was quite sure she would have preferred the shouting over this enthusiasm. Dwalin's sentiment didn't seem to be shared by the other members of the company. They all looked rather glad with the idea of someone who could help them with their quest. But Kate felt she could not deal with this. Shouting she could handle, their hopes and expectations she could not. Was this perhaps how Thorin felt from time to time, like he alone would be responsible for the success of the quest?

She threw her hands up into the air as if to protect herself. 'Oh no!' she said. 'It isn't like that.'

Bombur frowned. 'Why not?'

She took a deep breath. 'Well, firstly, because the book isn't always right. Some things that happen, like us getting caught at the goblins' emergency exit, that's not in it. Come to think of it, I'm not in it either. And secondly, I can't keep you out of trouble because I can't make you do anything.' _And yes, Thorin, you can take that hint and run with it_. 'And thirdly, even when I think I've managed to get us out of trouble, the trouble comes and finds us anyway.' She was slightly out of breath after that rant, but at least she hoped she had talked some sense into their heads now. Any moment they could start shouting at her about her incompetence.

But that was wishful thinking. If anything, their smiles got even wider. Good grief, had these dwarves no common sense at all? Only Dwalin looked still positively murderous and Thorin wasn't too pleased either. Gandalf's expression was hard to make out, since he was safely hidden behind his beloved smokescreen again. _Always good to know that some things never really change_, she thought wryly.

'So, Mr Baggins will come back?' Glóin asked.

Kate nodded, albeit a bit hesitantly. 'The story seems to suggest that he will join us shortly, but…'

At this point she was interrupted by Óin. His hearing trumpet had been rather damaged since the goblins had been under the impression that rehearsing for a part in Riverdance on the thing had been a good idea. Consequently the dwarf's hearing was even worse than it already was. 'She says he'll come back!' he exclaimed.

'I'm saying no such thing!' she protested immediately. Shit, the last thing she needed was all of them starting to rely on her knowledge as if it was God's gift to mankind, which in her opinion it really wasn't. Because if that happened, then the next time she inevitably wouldn't know about something that happened, they would start to blame her for their misfortunes and she had had too much of that already with Thorin. 'The story claims that he will indeed come back, but there's just no telling if that's really going to happen!'

Her voice had gradually risen, until she was nearly shouting and at least that helped her in shutting them up. Not that this was any better. The silence was deafening again. Had someone dropped a pin, it might have deafened the lot of them.

It was almost becoming too awkward again, when all of a sudden the silence was broken by an altogether familiar voice. 'Well, here I am again.'

Kate swivelled around and found herself face to face with a dishevelled looking, but very alive Bilbo Baggins.

**Thorin**

Thorin did not know if he should be relieved or disappointed that the burglar had returned to them. He was strongly tended towards the latter. The incident on the cliff had proven to him beyond the shadow of a doubt that the halfling was next to useless when it came down to it. No, he was even a danger, to himself as much as to his companions. Thorin thought he would have preferred it if the hobbit had just taken his chance to run back off to his comfortable hobbit-hole again, so that the dwarf king would never again have to deal with him.

Unfortunately Kate's knowledge had been absolutely spot on. Right now he was long past the point where he would let himself be frightened by this. He had done away with that the moment he had decided to give her blasted book a chance to prove its worth. And that was what it had done. They had made it over – or rather under – the mountains and he had done as she had said for the duration of that trip.

So, now was probably the time to evaluate that decision. She had been right about both the presence of the stone giants and the goblins' main gate. She had however not been aware of the existence of the emergency exit. Part of him, the part that would stay as far away from that book as possible, told him that was more than enough reason to dismiss whatever else would be coming out of her mouth. But that was childish and he knew it. As much as he hated the thought, he could simply not afford to not work with her. He had sworn a vow to do everything in his power to make sure that each and every member of this company came out of this alive and he stood by that. And that meant that discarding Miss Andrews's knowledge would be a very foolish move indeed.

His eyes glanced over the clearing where they were catching their breaths. Kate had insisted they should press on, because all too soon they would have the goblins on their trail again. Thorin hadn't even needed her to tell him this; he had known it already. It was a consequence of having killed the Great Goblin and quite a few of his men. The goblins would not let him get away with such a thing.

But they had injuries that still needed seeing to. And they would still have a few hours of daylight left. One hour would hardly make a difference and they needed the break from running more than Thorin was ready to admit. Now that the excitement of the flight started to wear off he was feeling the weariness all the better. Hardy dwarf or not, they could get exhausted if they were not careful. Soon, he pondered, they would need to find a safe place where they could at least catch a few hours of sleep.

The company advisor had previously been looking utterly exhausted, but right now she seemed to be as awake as she could be again. Maybe it had been her ranting that gave her energy. Thorin chuckled under his breath. Other people gained their energy from food, sleep and good company, but that woman seemed to be capable to get hers from her anger. Miss Andrews's fury was like a burning fire keeping her going.

But her behaviour was confusing to the dwarf king. He had thought that she would be glad that the others took the news of her book so well, instead of shouting at her like Dwalin had done. Her flying off the handle had taken him completely by surprise.

He walked over to her, suddenly remembering that he actually still had the book. He had forgotten all about it during their flight and of course it had not been really important then. But it was hers after all and the fact that he allowed her to use it, didn't mean he suddenly liked to have it.

The advisor was digging through her bag, obviously looking for something with a deep frown in her forehead.

'Looking for something, Miss Andrews?' Thorin inquired politely.

She looked up. 'The book,' she admitted with a look of defeat. 'The goblins must still have it. I really thought everything was still there.' She sent him a weary smile. 'Guess I'll have to work from memory now.'

'No, you won't,' Thorin disagreed. He took the book from behind his belt and handed it back to her. 'I found this on the platform.'

Kate's jaw actually dropped and she stared at him. 'Let me get this straight: you found my book and didn't throw it over the nearest cliff, but instead decided to give it back to me?' The disbelief was obvious in her voice.

Thorin gave a curt nod in confirmation.

She shook her head. 'Then who the hell are you and what have you done with the real Thorin Oakenshield?'

Was it truly that hard to believe that he was not completely unfeeling? 'It was not my place to decide what to do with your belongings,' he told her as gruffly as he could manage. 'This book belongs to you, not to me.'

Kate arched an eyebrow and was clearly debating with herself whether to dispute his point, but then decided against it. 'And that coat belongs to you, not to me,' she pointed out. 'And I think you had better take it back before anyone else gets any ideas.' She was obviously referring to what Bilbo had said back in the cave. 'Where he got those ideas, heaven only knows,' she added as an afterthought. She had taken the coat off a while ago and it was still lying next to her on the ground. The air out here was warm, so unlike the cold wind on the mountains, and she had no need of it here. And at least it seemed as if her cloak had made it through Goblin-town, even if it was a bit worse for wear.

'Your culture does not believe this to be a sign of affection?' Thorin heard himself ask. He had wondered about it before and there seemed to be no real reason not to ask.

But Kate misunderstood, her eyes widening in horror. 'If you're saying what I think you're saying…'

Thorin sent her a scowl. 'Try not to be ridiculous, Miss Andrews.'

'Just saying…' she muttered. 'Why did you even let me go ahead and tell them about the book?'

Wasn't this woman just a living and breathing contradiction? 'I believed you wanted to tell them?'

'Yes, and you didn't want me to,' she shot back immediately. 'Why this change of heart? Don't think that the stay with the goblins has mellowed you out.'

Thorin had never heard that expression before, but she got her point across well enough. But he also knew that he did not have a real answer for her. It had been a spur of the moment decision and thinking things through hadn't really come into it. Her question forced him to think about his own motives. Maybe he had just wanted her to look stupid in front of the company. He had doubted the others would even believe her and so he had allowed her to shout it out on top of her lungs. Now of course the others had not quite reacted in such a fashion.

But Thorin did not think that was the reason. If he was really honest with himself, and it would seem that the situation required that, then he would have to admit that he was tired of all the secrecy, tired of the fighting. It was like trying to fight his way upstream in a strong current and he had enough of it. His fighting didn't seem to be doing any of them any good. The book turned out to be right about almost everything, no matter what he did or said. And Gandalf was still not of a mind to send the advisor away. He would have to learn to live with her.

He sat down on the ground opposite her, taking out his sword to sharpen it, so he had a very good excuse not to look at Miss Andrews. 'There is no use in fighting,' he told her. He would have said that she was right, but that was taking things a bit too far too soon and she could read well enough between the lines anyway.

And his assumption was right. If she kept up this eyebrow-raising, they'd be halfway her forehead by this time tomorrow. 'So, you're saying that we should work together for a change? Instead of getting on each other's nerves so badly that we start hitting each other again, that is?'

'So far you have been the only one to use violence, Miss Andrews,' Thorin felt obliged to point out. He kept his eyes on the blade, but he could not stifle the smirk on his lips entirely, especially not when he saw the expression on her face that told everyone with a brain that was currently very much wishing she could hit him there and then.

It also made him wonder where the two of them were standing. In the short few months that he had known her they had been on the brink of being mortal enemies, they had been, as she would so eloquently phrase it, each other's pain in the arse and they had ended up reluctant allies. Yet they had also been jesting and exchanging witticisms and the elves had clearly thought them married, Mahal forbid.

'Very funny,' she commented dryly. 'Rub my nose in it, why don't you?'

'I believe it was you who started about getting violent, Miss Andrews.' This felt like the bantering in Rivendell and even though Thorin knew that they would soon be on the move again to avoid getting run down by a mob of vengeful goblins, he felt strangely relaxed. He blamed it on giving up the fighting. That usually took up so much energy.

Kate did frown though. 'So, what about us?' she wondered.

Thorin gave her a questioning glance. 'What do you mean?'

The advisor looked startled, as if she had not realised she had spoken aloud. She recovered soon however. 'We, where do we stand?' she repeated. 'To be quite honest, I think you're horribly confusing. And infuriating from time to time. One moment you seem to be thinking I'm worth less than the dirt under your shoes and the next you're fussing over me freezing to death.'

'And you yourself are shouting at me one second to be sleeping on my chest the next.' It really was too easy to counter this accusation.

'On your insistence,' she shot back. 'And only because you would have held me in some kind of death grip had I not stayed put.' Unlike what he had expected, there were no venomous undertones and they were not even in a crisis. Progress, as she would probably say.

He arched an eyebrow. 'You would rather have frozen to death?'

Kate tilted her head. 'That's a little bit exaggerated, don't you think?'

'You would have gotten a fever,' Thorin pointed out. 'As the leader of this company it is my responsibility that no harm befalls you.'

It earned him a chuckle. 'Thorin Oakenshield admitting he actually cares? Whatever next?'

The way that woman was going on one would almost think that she did not want people to care for her. She had acted the same when Dori and Nori had stood up for her. 'You are a woman,' he told her brusquely. 'You ought not even to be on this quest in the first place.' His temper flared. She really did not see, did she? What kind of horrible world did she come from if she was not used to men taking care of their womenfolk? It was the most natural thing in the world for Thorin, something he had been taught since birth. He knew his race had perfected the art of protecting their women, since there were already so few of them, but the other races of Middle Earth were also of the opinion that women were far more fragile than their males.

But she had somehow taken offence in his words. Her eyes narrowed in anger. 'Get that hairy head of yours out of the Dark Age, will you?' she snapped. 'Never heard of such a thing as gender equality, have you? I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much!'

If he had not been extremely irritated by the time the last words had left her mouth, he would have laughed at the absurdity of that claim. Miss Andrews was a lot of things – hot-headed, somewhat intelligent and observant – but being able to take care of herself was not one of her qualities. One only had to look at her to know that. She was so fragile she would be blown away in the gentlest breeze and it was established that her skills with a sword were severely lacking. What kind of people would leave their women to go out into the wild on their own? But maybe it was not that much of a surprise that the women born to such a people would be hardened somewhat, if only for their self-protection?

'Your world must be a harsh one,' he observed.

That seemed to take her by surprise. 'Whatever makes you say that?' she wondered.

'Do the men not take care of you?' he clarified.

He may have been suspecting anger, but a bark of laugher was the reply he got. 'Good heaven, no!' she exclaimed. 'And thank goodness for that. It took women long enough to get the rights they have now, and that's leaving the fact that approximately half of the males of the world population are downright bastards.'

When Kate said that, she didn't mean children that were born out of wedlock, Thorin had come to learn. The first time he heard her use the word it had been to some member of the company as in 'Thorin looks like one grumpy bastard' and he had been about to go and demand of her whether she was questioning his parentage, but then he had learned that she actually meant it as a word indicating that she was none too fond of him. It had nothing to do with his birth at all.

'I am sorry to hear that,' he forced himself to say, recalling something about her father that seemed to bother her from time to time.

Kate conjured up a smile, stuffing her belongings back in the rucksack. 'They're not all bad. I used to share a house with two of my best friends, one of them a guy. John was okay, I'd say. And my brother is all right as well, I guess.' She thought about that for a moment. 'Our worlds are just different, I suppose. But that is why you lot are all so fussy about me from time to time, isn't it, even when you don't like me at all.'

Thorin noted with interest that this was the first more or less civilised conversation they had had so far, but he would not start cheering in advance. They were not done yet and he was quite sure the last part of the sentence had been meant for him. 'Yes,' he nodded, getting up. It was about time they moved on. The day was passing and it would be dark within a few hours. 'And I do not have a dislike of you.' He had meant to say those words only to appease her a little, but he found that he meant them. _The stay with the goblins must have "mellowed you out" indeed_, his brain commented.

'Really?' the advisor asked. She got to her feet herself. 'Progress again. What does that make of us then?'

In any other circumstance he would have called her a friend, but that seemed absurd. Thorin never had any friends outside his own race. He was not even sure that he considered this woman one. But his image had already been put at risk. He might as well do things thoroughly. 'Friends, Miss Andrews,' he replied.

'Friends?' Kate seemed to think about it. 'We could try that, I suppose. I am sure our companions would be grateful for it too.'

No protest from her lips? That surprised him. 'Quite right,' he grumbled, returning to the rest of the company. 'Are you coming, Miss Andrews? We are moving out,' he added when she did not follow him right away.

An annoyed expression crossed her face as she caught up with him. 'Friends we may be, but if you call me by my surname again, I might just hit you,' she threatened. 'I'm quite used to friends using my first name, you know.'

Thorin snorted. 'And this is coming from the woman who has called me Mr Oakenshield for the last few months?'

She rolled her eyes at him, but there was an amused smile on her face. It was another glimpse of the happy woman in the painting. Maybe it was just the relief of having escaped the goblins that was guiding their actions now. If this had been a crisis, they would probably never have agreed on being friends. Maybe Thorin wasn't the only one who had mellowed out. 'Fine then, _Thorin_,' she said with emphasis. 'Have it your way.'

'I am the leader of this company, Miss… Kate.' He could only just rectify his error before it was too late. 'I am used to getting my way.'

This had her chuckling. 'Miss Kate, eh?' Another chuckle followed. 'And you may want to tell Gandalf that you are the leader. He seems to have forgotten it again.' She gave a pointed look in the wizard's direction, who indeed seemed to be quite busy bossing Bofur and Fíli around. 'Just a piece of _friendly_ advice,' she added. 'We can't have him undermine your authority now, can we?'

'We?' he heard himself asking.

Kate shrugged. 'That's just a thing friends do for one another, right?'

He supposed so, but he would not have expected it from this woman. It was a thing Balin or Dwalin could have done. But they had just agreed on being friends – even though he had never heard about anyone who _agreed_ to something like friendship ever before in his life – so he supposed he should start to get used to it. He didn't dislike that idea as much as he'd thought.

* * *

From Kate's note: _Well, all in all I'd say that was an interesting day, even though I'm not yet sure about this whole friendship thing with Thorin. Really strange to call him by his given name in the first place really. But, well, he did propose it himself and I could do without all the arguing for a while. Come to think of it, didn't I tell him that we were not quite friends back in Rivendell? And he has been acting somewhat nicer lately. I guess I could just give it a try, right? _

_I do wonder though if the goblins are going after us. As far as I can tell it's still quite early, so we might get quite a long way before dark falls. Who knows, we might be lucky… I'm keeping my fingers crossed._

* * *

**This chapter was hell to write. I'm really hoping I didn't mess it up too much. **

**And I did promise I'd advertise my brother's story here, so there we go. It's called **_**The king is dead, Long live who?**_** by **_**thorin's majestic beard**_**. It follows the death of the Great Goblin as the goblins are choosing a new king. Warning, it is parody, but it's also rather funny, so if you've got the time, it's definitely worth a try.**

**Anyway, shameless family advertising over, next time Kate has a conversation that clears up a lot and we're taking a look at the newfound friendship. And some creatures may or may not barge in… Until then, review?**


	23. Chapter 23 Burning Times

**Chapter 23**

**Burning Times**

_It was almost too easy for me to forget that we had escaped the goblins when we made our way further down the mountain. The air was warm, the sun was shining and the mood was cheerful. I had pointed out that we might very well either have Azog or goblins on our trail come nightfall – depending on whether the real events followed the book or the movie – but my companions seemed to disregard that idea. They were too cheerful and not in any mood to listen to doom scenarios._

_I can't say that I really blamed them for that. I felt far more at ease myself if I allowed myself to believe that we would have a nice goblin-free night ahead of us, but Murphy's Law had not appeared to be limited to just my world so far. _

_Fortunately the persons whose opinion really mattered, Thorin and Gandalf, had listened. The wizard was encouraging – or perhaps _ordering_ is a better word for it – us to walk the fastest we could, which was not too fast. Bofur had sustained an injury in his leg at one point and he was still limping and both Dori and Balin had been wounded as well. That didn't stop the former from fussing over the wound on my face though._

_Gandalf and Thorin led the way, the latter with a scowl on his face, no doubt hating the fact that Gandalf had once again deluded himself into thinking he was in charge here. He walked with big steps, the ones you, Thoren, used to try and copy when you were younger in order to appear more impressive. I can still see you marching around Erebor, trying to imitate Thorin's most disapproving frown as you went. Of course we always laughed at it secretly, but when your father did it, there was nothing funny about it to be sure. Combined with that angry scowl I remember thinking that we should not be afraid for our own wellbeing, but rather for that of the dragon._

_And soon, it would turn out, he had every right to be as brooding as he was…_

**Kate**

Kate had fallen into step with Dori, Balin and Glóin. Her self-appointed brother had gotten himself injured in one fight or the other. It had been so much chaos in there that she had lost track of him for a while, so it would be impossible for her to say when he had gotten hurt. Not that it stopped him from fussing over the wound the whip had caused on her face.

'Knock it off, will you?' she snapped in the end. 'What on earth is the matter with you dwarves anyway? I'm not made of porcelain.'

Unfortunately for her that was what all her companions seemed to think anyway. She was pretty sure not all of them even liked her – Dwalin sure as hell did not – but as soon as something happened to her, they all went straight into the protect-and-fuss-over-the-delicate-female-mode and she had just about enough of it.

'You are a woman, lass,' Balin explained.

She could only just stop herself from groaning in frustration. 'Not you too, Balin?'

To her surprise this had him laughing. 'You spent too much time around Thorin,' he clarified when she threw him a confused look. 'You sound exactly like him.'

She was unsure of what to do with such a comment and in the end settled for a rather wryly spoken 'I suppose I'll take a compliment where I can find one.' This had all three of them laughing, so she went back to her earlier question. 'Seriously, what's the matter with you lot? It's just a scratch and Thorin too was looking at me if I might break in half with the softest breeze. Óin says it will heal within days as long as I keep it clean.'

'It's because you're a woman,' Glóin explained. 'And a delicate one too.'

Now it was Kate's turn to surrender to fits of laughter. 'That's not exactly what my ex-boyfriend said when I broke his nose.' Earlier she had refrained from talking about her life back home, because it had been too painful. But knowing that one day she would return home had taken the edge off the pain and she felt more or less at ease with these dwarves, annoying though they sometimes might be.

She went over what Glóin, Balin and Thorin had said. All of them had seemed to be worrying for her only because she was a woman. While this annoyed her to absolutely no end, she now forced herself to recall the little Tolkien had said about dwarf-women. The only thing that her mind would come up with was that they were only about a third of the population and that they hardly ever travelled abroad. Neither of those things provided her with an explanation for her companions' behaviour.

But her companions were distracted now by her mentioning using violence. 'Why on earth would you do that?' Dori asked, appearing to be in shock.

'I caught him cheating on me with my colleague,' she replied. And self-control had not been too high on her list of priorities back then. All in all it felt quite good to unleash her fist on his handsome face. It had been even more satisfactory to hear him howl in pain, which was no less than he deserved in Kate's opinion. 'I lost it and hit him.'

Dori still looked distinctly ruffled. 'Well, I won't say he did not deserve it,' he muttered and he seemed to mean that. 'But you should not have concerned yourself with such things. You have a brother, don't you?' And when Kate nodded, he said: 'Then he could have stood up for your honour. He should have done.'

'This is about my honour?' she exclaimed. It was probably a culture thing, but really, did they have to have such medieval opinions all the time? 'In that case I am perfectly capable of fighting my own battles.'

Three faces told her they did not agree with her on that one.

Kate suppressed the urge to hit them all and instead settled for sending them all stern glances. 'Look, I understand you guys are probably brought up differently, but, let's face it, I'm from another world. We do things differently there. And like it or not, I belong to that world and I am not about to change just because you lot are of the opinion that I am incapable of looking out for myself.' Her patience with all this fussing nonsense was rapidly running out, which may or may not have something to do with her energy running out as well. Common sense told her it would be a good idea not to fly off the handle right here and now, but she pretended she had not heard it. The annoying thing about common sense was that it always wanted her to be reasonable in moments where she would like to do nothing better than give an imitation of a three year old's most annoying behaviour.

Balin patted her arm affectionately. 'Dori means well, lass.'

Really, what was it with this old dwarf that made it just impossible for her to get cross with him? She found herself giving him a wry smile before she had given herself permission to do so. 'I know that.' The tone was still annoyed, but she was not really mad, she found. While all this fussing was beyond irritating, a small part of her was also touched by the fact that people who in some cases could not wait to see the back of her were still concerned for her wellbeing, despite her snapping at them. 'It's just… well, I'm used to fighting my own battles, standing up for myself. Your attitude is… suffocating is the word, I guess. And it's so bloody confusing, since most of you don't appear to be overly fond of me.'

'Ah.' Understanding dawned on Balin's face. 'That is what's troubling you?'

Kate frowned. 'Isn't that enough?'

This got a laugh out of him. 'What do you know about the women of our race?' he asked.

'Only that they are few in number and in appearance very much like your men,' Kate summed up. 'It's not a lot, really.'

Glóin let out a bark of laughter. 'It's more than most people know. There's this ridiculous belief that we don't have women and that dwarves just spring up from holes in the ground.'

Kate snorted. 'Well, you already said it was ridiculous… It doesn't explain why you lot are so prone to fussing when it comes to my wellbeing though.'

'That's because there are so few of our own women,' Balin explained, effortlessly slipping into teacher mode. It seemed to suit him somehow. 'We're brought up to be very careful with those we have. To lose a dwarf woman means one less woman to carry on our race.'

Kate nodded. 'That makes sense. But just in case it escaped your notice, I am not a dwarf. I am human.'

Of which she was all too aware. Over the months it had become clear that she would always remain an outsider, as Bilbo was too. There had been no sense of belonging and she hadn't sought it out, because it would only serve to complicate things even further and that she could do without. Things had changed when she had been kind of adopted into the Ri family, although she could not for the life of her tell if this was positive or not. It would only make it harder to say goodbye when the time came for her to leave.

'That's obvious.' Kate was trying to work out whether Glóin's comment was meant as an insult or not. 'You've got far too little hair.'

Whether it was an insult or not, it vexed her. 'I've got more than enough hair. It's just all on top of my head and not anywhere else. And that suits me just fine, thank you very much.' If her tone was a little more snappy than usual, that was purely coincidental. It had nothing to do whatsoever with Glóin's comment, or so she told herself. 'Anyway, I doubt you would find any other woman than your own wife even remotely attractive, so…' She ended with a smirk, causing the dwarf in question to blush. He could go on and on about his wife and his son for hours. If he was to be believed, his wife was the best woman in existence and his son was a future warrior the likes of which the world had never seen before. Kate of course found it hard to argue with the last claim, since she had read about Gimli and knew about the things he would do in later life, but it still annoyed the crap out of her and the rest of the company as well on occasion. 'We know she's the most amazing woman. Her beard is lovely, her cooking is the best and she has skills all of us wished we had never heard about in the first place.' Kíli, who was walking somewhere behind them did his best to disguise his laughter as a coughing fit, but no one was fooled.

'You should meet her,' Glóin insisted. 'Then you can see it for yourself.'

Kate chuckled. 'No need. You talk about her so often, it's like I already know her. And your descriptions were very detailed as well, so I think I get the picture. She is slightly shorter than you, has long thick red hair that she wears in about a dozen braids, has an equally red and equally long beard that is worn in two braids. Her eyes are green and she has the most dazzling smile in the universe.' She tilted her head. 'Did I miss anything?'

If the dwarf knew that she was mildly mocking him, he did not show it. 'She is the ideal woman.'

That had Kate looking at him in annoyance. 'Really, you lot are no different from the men at home!'

'In what way?' Balin asked in an interested voice. He was something of a scholar, like Ori, although he could be a warrior as well if the situation asked for it. Kate got the feeling that he was more than a little curious about the world where she had come from, even if he was polite enough not to shower her with questions all the time, which she appreciated enormously.

She threw him a wry glance. 'Well, it's all about the way you look, right? You look like this, then you're attractive and if you don't, you're not attractive.' This irritation, she firmly told herself, had nothing to do whatsoever with Glóin's idea that she was not attractive at all. Oh, really, who was she fooling? Somehow to her it felt like an insult, even when she knew she should not take this personally. The guy was obviously head over heels in love with his wife and dwarves did have different ideas about beauty than her race. It was a culture thing, she supposed, and yet it still vexed her. No woman liked to hear that her beauty wasn't up to standard, she figured. 'Apparently it doesn't matter what race you belong to in that respect, because we still all seem to make our partner choice for a large part based on what this person looks like.'

Now it was Glóin who appeared insulted. 'How would you select a partner then, Miss Andrews?' Oh yes, he sounded distinctly ruffled now.

'Well, how about based on character?' she shot back sarcastically, ruffled too because that didn't seem to have occurred to him. Apparently for Glóin it had been love at first sight, a concept Kate always had some problems with. How on earth could one fall in love with someone one had seen only once, knowing nothing about what that particular person was like? It seemed a bit stupid to her at least. 'There has got to be some kind of connection with that person.' She of course had thought she had that with Marc, until she discovered he was not as faithful as she had believed him to be. But well, her mother had made a mistake in her choice of husband, so perhaps choosing the wrong type of men was hereditary.

Glóin now stared at her as if she had done nothing less than proposing to have a picnic with elves or something equally weird. 'But based on that description you could choose to marry an orc!' he exclaimed in an incredulous voice.

Kate's nose wrinkled in disgust. 'I don't think so, no!' Her tone may be a little louder than she had intended, but seriously, was that dwarf insane?

It was only when Glóin spoke again that she realised he had been teasing her. 'Why not?' he shrugged. 'Because of their looks?'

She favoured him with her iciest look even as Balin and Dori tried and failed to hide their amusement. And she had a feeling that Kíli's continued coughing wasn't entirely natural either. 'Very funny, Glóin,' she commented. 'And no, I don't think their looks have anything to do with it.' If she was really honest, of course they had, but she was not in a hurry to tell him that after her last few statements. Hypocrite she may be on that account, but there was no reason why her friends should know about that. 'But I think their general dislike of personal hygiene and manners do. And then there's always the minor complication of not having met one orc who doesn't want to run me through. Hardly the best grounds for a good relationship, don't you think?'

That had Dori laughing. 'True. And you'd do best to stay well away from them.' Was it just her imagination or was there some brotherly concern in his voice? It moved her more than she knew it should be doing.

But Glóin was obviously not yet prepared to drop the subject. 'So,' he began with a pensive look in his eyes. 'You would be prepared to marry an elf if you had a connection with him? If you thought you'd fit well together?'

'Well, it's not as simple as that, since I'm not from here,' Kate replied. 'But for argument's sake let's say I was then the answer's yes probably, if the feeling was mutual. Not that I'm planning on getting married anytime soon,' she added for good measure. There was an almost sly grin on Balin's face that she did not trust at all. _Up to no good, I'll warrant_, as the Great Goblin would have phrased it.

And her assessment of the situation was spot on in this case, because the grin was soon followed by an inquisitive: 'So, the same would be true for dwarves then, wouldn't it?' Kate found she did not like the sound of this at all.

_What the hell are you playing at?_ He couldn't possibly be implying what she thought he was, right? 'Balin…' she said in a warning voice, hoping to smother this before it could get out of hand. Really, Balin was the most sensible person around here. He least of all should believe what that big oaf of a goblin king had been saying.

Her warning did not quite have the desired effect. All it did was make him laugh. 'You really spent too much time around Thorin, lass. You sound more like him each day.'

This triggered her own irritation. 'And you spend entirely too much time seeing things that aren't even there,' she shot back. How anyone in his senses – and Balin didn't seem completely insane to her – could see anything like that between Thorin and her was entirely beyond her. At first she had thought his protectiveness strange, contradicting his otherwise grumpy behaviour towards her. But the explanation about how dwarves treated women – no matter how annoying that attitude – had at least cleared a few things up for her. And as the leader it would make sense for Thorin to take the lead in that. Come to think of it, this could be perfectly natural. And at least the elves must have known that, even if she had not.

'That's enough, Balin.' To her surprise it was Dori that spoke up. 'Kate is uncomfortable with this subject.'

'Not uncomfortable, annoyed,' she corrected. 'It's almost as if everyone I encounter here seems to think I'm romantically involved with Thorin, even when I'm not. We're friends of sorts, I guess, but definitely nothing more.' _And I'll hit the first person who tries to tell me otherwise._

'Friends?' Dori's eyebrows were halfway his forehead and it didn't look like that was in a good way. 'He's done nothing but snap at you since you arrived.' Oh, this was definitely brotherly concern coming into play. The journalist recognised it when she saw it. Jacko had once done the exact same thing when he did not approve of one of her new friends. The annoying thing was that he had been right.

Kate shrugged. 'Well, he can't go on ignoring me, not if he doesn't want Gandalf to blast his head off. We figured we might as well try and act civil. No big deal.'

Dori clearly thought differently and was visibly just about to voice that opinion when the first howling of overgrown wolves filled the air. And Kate felt a shiver go down her spine.

**Thorin**

Thorin kept to the head of the column at first, but had soon to accept that he actually had no idea where he was going. He had never been here before – he had never needed to be here before – but the wizard clearly knew what he was doing. So the dwarf king let Gandalf lead the way. He would have that fight over who was the leader here later. Now clearly was not the time for it.

He had let himself fall back next to Dwalin, who kept his silence. The warrior had never been a man of many words and he seemed to sense that Thorin was in no real mood to talk today. The silence therefore wasn't awkward, but friendly and in a strange way even reassuring. It really was good to have a friend like this.

And Thorin had a lot to keep his mind occupied. Kate had warned him, discreetly, that there would all too soon be goblins on their trail again and he tended to believe her. They kept up a steady pace. It was slower than what he would have liked, but after a two day long flight through Goblin-town – had it really been that long? – and with several of their number injured, he knew he could not ask any more of them. They were already giving it all they could.

Nevertheless the mood was a cheerful one. Bofur had started whistling again, all kinds of songs, varying from battle ones to songs of a nature that made him glad no one was singing the words out loud. The younger ones were joking and Miss Andrews – no, Kate, he had to remember to call her Kate from now on – had joined Dori, Balin and Glóin and the four of them seemed quite caught up in one discussion or another that had the company advisor extremely annoyed. He had seen the expression more than enough to recognise it when he chanced upon it.

Thorin could not even bring himself to begrudge them their feelings of triumph, not when he felt at least remotely pleased with himself for escaping Goblin-town. His entire company had come out alive, not unscathed, but alive. That was something to be proud of, especially when one took into account how close they had been to certain death in there.

But they were not just out of the woods yet – literally in this case – he was all too aware of that and therefore he kept glancing over his shoulder and up to the sky. Dwarves were not creatures that lived on the surface as a rule, even though they had not much choice in the matter during their exile. They preferred the underground halls of their people and many of them saw the light of torches much more than they saw the light of the sun. And maybe Thorin had been in exile too long, but the underground tunnels of the goblins had frightened him in a way and he had quickly come to regard the light of day a dear friend. But admittedly, it was not a very reliable friend. It raced across the sky faster than Thorin would have liked. The shadows were lengthening and it would not be long before the sun would disappear behind the mountains and dusk would start to fall.

They would need to press on by the light of the moon. This area wasn't safe for camping anyway, since Gandalf had said that the goblins liked to come out here after dark to stir up trouble. Well, no real surprise there anyway.

Fortunately everyone, despite their happy chatter, seemed to understand this without Thorin having to spell it out for them. And thank Mahal for the endurance of dwarves. They were hardy folk by nature, but the exile had brought out the best in them. In that way only it had been good for them to be away from Erebor. These dwarves knew what it took to survive. He'd bet all the gold in Erebor that Dáin's people would not be able to keep this up. It made him proud of his own men.

Thorin had been expecting trouble and trouble was what he got. The last rays of sunlight had hardly vanished behind the mountain before the first howling echoed through the woods. That stopped the company dead in its tracks, heads swivelling in the direction whence the noise had come.

'Those are not wolves,' Kate stated.

'Wargs!' he spat. The advisor had been right, no matter how much he hated that. 'Out of the frying pan…'

'… And into the fire,' the wizard helpfully finished. 'Up the trees, quick!'

Thorin rounded on him. 'We should run.'

Gandalf may be in a mental state of near panic, but when his decision were called into question, he was quick to react, that was for certain. 'Well, Thorin Oakenshield, if you would like to try and outrun a pack of wargs, you are more than welcome to try it and we will gather your remains in the morning! If you want to live, you will do as I say!'

Oh, they would have a discussion about this later, Thorin was sure. There was no way that wizard was going to get away with this, but right now he had to admit that those wargs did sound awfully close. There was not much choice in the matter anyway and so he nodded his approval of the plan. At least one thing could be said about his company: they did not obey Gandalf's order until Thorin had approved of it.

Dwarves weren't natural tree-climbers – that was an elvish thing to be doing after all – and they didn't find it easy to haul himself up. But everyone was desperate enough not to get eaten by overgrown wolves and in hindsight it surprised Thorin how easily every single dwarf seemed to be capable of getting himself to safety. He himself waited until nearly everyone was off the ground in case they needed help. He was the leader after all and he would not be seen fleeing into a tree as your average coward before everyone else was safe.

'Come up, will you?' someone hissed down at him as he watched Dori help Bilbo up a tree. 'Unless you fancy being turned into a dog's dinner of course, in which case you are welcome to stay where you are.' The voice, belonging to his new friend, was almost right above him and when he looked up he saw the advisor standing on a low branch.

Bifur, Bofur and Bombur had sought refuge in the same tree, but it would seem there was still room for another occupant. This tree was a strong pine, made to endure. It had to be if it were to survive Bombur's body weight, Thorin pondered.

He gave a curt nod and began climbing up the tree. 'Get higher,' he ordered Kate. 'As high up as you can.'

'Good thing I'm not afraid of heights then,' she muttered, but she obeyed him nonetheless. If that was another fruit of their newfound friendship, this not questioning his every order, then Thorin was grateful for it. He would of course never admit this when called on, but he was afraid. It was not that the fact that Kate's knowledge had the frightening tendency of coming true that scared him now, it was not knowing what was going to happen, not knowing if they would make it out alive again. He knew he was hoping for it, but he also knew that only Kate held the real answer.

_Since when have you desired to know what she does? _his brain questioned as he climbed even higher. He had never wanted to know and he should not be starting to wish for it now. It was too dangerous. It would only undermine his determination to go any further all over again. And that was not an option. The way they worked now, with Kate having the knowledge and Thorin having the determination, that was a good one. That functioned, or at least it would when they would finally do this right.

Nevertheless, the not knowing was torture. The book may hold information Thorin would not like, but it might also reassure him on quite a few other accounts. And he found that he needed that. He needed to know that he had not just led his company into mortal peril.

'You okay?' came Kate's voice from a neighbouring branch.

He gave her a curt nod, not entirely sure why she would suddenly ask after his wellbeing when she had not been known to do such a thing before today. It would be the whole friends business, he supposed, but it still sounded off to him. 'You?'

'Oh, just the usual,' came the sarcastic reply. 'Chased by goblins, annoyed by dwarves and chased up a tree by wargs. Just another normal day in the lives of the companions of Thorin Oakenshield, I'd wager.' If he had not seen the wry grin accompanying the words he might have believed her to be mocking him. But she was merely joking, even if the joke came too close to the actual truth for Thorin's liking. They really did fall from one crisis straight into the next.

There were wargs entering the glade below them now and Thorin beckoned for her to be silent. It would not buy them much time, since these monsters were very skilled in sniffing out even the tiniest mouse and they were a good deal larger than your average mouse, but the longer they went unnoticed, the better it was for all of them.

He hardly dared to breathe, had completely willed himself to be as still as stone. Kate had given him one glance and had then tried to copy the action. The light was fading rapidly, but the moon had come out and that gave them light to see by, enough light to see that Kate's face was rather pale. No, she was not afraid of heights, but she sure was afraid of wargs. If he took her latest encounter with the horrible monsters into account he could not really blame her for feeling that way too. It had been too close then already.

And he had been right about his prediction that the wargs would soon sniff them out. It didn't take them long at all and Kate's face turned even paler as three of them sat down at the bottom of their tree, as if to guard it.

'They cannot climb the trees,' Thorin informed her, trying to sound something that approached reassuring, but quite sure that it was not anything even remotely like it.

'I know.' The reply seemed to be coming from between clenched teeth. 'It's in the bloody book.'

He fixed her with his most demanding stare. 'This is in your book?'

He got a curt tentative nod out of her this time. 'Hell, yes.'

'What else does it say?' Thorin needed to know, needed to know whether they would make it out alive. And they were friends now as well as allies, so they might as well start their cooperation right away.

And at least this seemed to force the advisor's mind on different matters than just the looming threat under the tree. Her jaw set – a tell-tale sign that she was thinking – and she nodded. 'Well, right now events seem to be following the book, which means that this place will be crawling with wargs and goblins as well before long. Gandalf will throw burning pine-cones at them and those stupid beasts down there will set the forest alight in their attempt to get to the water in time. And then the goblins come laughing at us while our trees are burning and we'll all get nearly suffocated before the eagles come and recue us.' A smile was thrown his way, even if it was more bravado than an actual smile. 'Feeling reassured already?'

He fixed her with as stern a look as he could manage, telling her that this was not the time to joke. His inside felt like it had been turned to ice, despite the mild summer weather. 'You cannot give in to your fear,' he told her sternly.

It was probably not the kind of thing a real friend would say, but he had never been good at reassuring people. Even Dís had once scolded him once for frightening her sons when he had been meant to reassure them. It had been a stormy night and the lads had still been small. Kíli, afraid of the thunder, had come running to him, telling him that he was so scared that the lightning would hit the house. Thorin, having meant to put the boy at ease, had replied the lightning missed most of the time, only to be confronted with a crying Kíli and an angry Dís, who had whacked him over the head with a ladle for frightening her son. Apparently he should have said that the lightning could never hit him. When Thorin had felt obliged to point out that this would have been a lie, she had just hit him again.

Fortunately Kate was no young Kíli and she nodded instead of running away in tears. 'I know,' she said. 'And let's look on the bright side. At least there's no Azog.'

That got her Thorin's undivided attention. 'What do you mean?'

'The other version,' she clarified. 'In the other version it's not the goblins that come, but Azog and his merry orcs. According to that version there are still wargs, forest fire and eagles, only then you are stupid enough to go out and face Azog, which of course goes terribly wrong. And for some stupid reason the trees we're in are on the edge of some bloody cliff and some of us almost fall to their deaths while the rest of us are fighting orcs. Does _that_ sound reassuring to you?'

_In a way_. At least there had been no mention of fighting in the book version. 'Why would I be so reckless as to go out and fight the Defiler?' he demanded of her. He had been meaning to merely think it, but it came out of his mouth anyway. Oh, he wanted to finish the Defiler badly, but not at the cost of his life or those of his companions.

Kate grimaced. 'To look like some kind of action hero?' she ventured. She became serious again. 'He shouted some kind of insult at you. I'm not exactly sure what about, but safe to say that it was less than complimentary.'

It made sense. It made an awful lot of sense. Thorin knew himself. He was proud and easily angered. And Azog was already an old enemy of his. Up here, with no Pale Orc in sight, it was easy to say that rushing out to fight him was a reckless and foolish thing to be doing, but his resolve might just waver the moment he laid eyes on the monster.

'He will hunt you too,' Thorin told the advisor.

She looked down and paled as she saw how many wargs, and now goblins as well, had filled the glade below since last she looked. 'Just to stay on the cheerful topics, you mean. And haven't we gone over this before? I know.'

_You do not know what it will be like_. She may have her books, but she had no idea what it was like to be caught up in such a feud. She had led such a sheltered life, never having been caught up in a fight save for a street robbery before Gandalf had spirited her away from everything she knew. How could she know?

He only realised he had spoken out loud when he found himself on the receiving end of her most disapproving stare. 'I may not be from this world, Thorin with the bloody oaken shield, but I am no fool either. If Azog gets his dirty hands on me, I'm dead. And he's unlikely to make it an easy passing.' Her tone was angry, but there was an underlying tone of deep-rooted fear to be heard as well.

And Thorin felt like slamming his head against the tree for giving the Great Goblin the wrong impression about them. He had led a friend into the worst trouble imaginable, even when they had not yet been friends when said misunderstanding had occurred. It was now his responsibility to make sure that she would survive, no one else's, not even her new brothers'. It was an honour thing, he supposed, and therefore more important than Kate would probably ever understand. 'I will do whatever I can to prevent that from happening,' he vowed.

Kate snorted and misinterpreted. 'Please, save me from that oh-she's-a-fragile-woman-so-she-needs-twenty-four- hour-supervision crap. I've had quite enough of that for one day, thank you very much. Let's focus on getting out of here first, shall we?'

He was about to explain that things were not like that, even if it was indeed a part of it, when something else got his attention. Some blue light sailed past their tree and he swivelled his head around to see what it was.

He was just in time to see something that looked like a projectile blazed in blue fire land on the back of one of the wargs, instantly lighting up the beast. _Gandalf will throw burning pine-cones at them and those stupid beasts down there will set the forest alight in their attempt to get to the water in time._ Kate's words echoed in his head.

'Bloody wizard,' he heard her mutter. 'Surely he must know that this will set the whole sodding forest on fire? He knows the book as well as I do!'

'He has never acted on it before,' Thorin muttered sourly. And come to think of it, that was strange, very strange. Had that wizard just admitted that he knew everything, then they had never needed Kate in the first place.

But now was not the time to ponder the wizard's strange behaviour, because said wizard had launched into an full-out burning pine-cone attack from up his tree. It sent the wargs and the occasional goblin screaming, yelping and running in search of water to put out the flames. Even though Thorin knew it was exactly as Kate had told him it would be, there was something very scary about seeing it happen right before his very eyes. He could see the wargs run away, rolling on the ground, spreading the fire as they went. And this forest was dry, too dry. It was almost too easy for the trees to catch fire. Their own tree was safe for now, but two of the other ones holding dwarves were not. Thorin could feel his fists clench in frustration. He had felt powerless before, back in Goblin-town, back when the goblins had been about to finish him off, but this was worse. Would he really be forced to watch while his companions burned to death?

Because that was a real possibility. He could not even recall how many times Kate had emphasised that the real events did not always follow the story as she knew it. The real events could all too easily turn out far worse than her story would have them believe.

And over the crackling of the fire, he could hear the goblins' laughter. They rejoiced in their suffering, relished the chance to see them burn. And, Mahal save them all, were they even singing?

'_Sixteen birds in five fir-trees,_

_their feathers were fanned in a fiery breeze!_

_But, funny little birds, they had no wings!_

_O what shall we do with the funny little things?_

_Roast 'em alive, or stew them in a pot;_

_Fry them, boil them and eat them hot?'_

The song was hardly melody, hardly singing at all, and yet it was frightening, if only because the goblins were so obviously unafraid of the inferno that was developing here. They even seemed to enjoy it. That was the real frightening thing and if it was already so for the dwarf king who didn't scare easily, then it must be worse for the advisor.

Kate looked at him, pure terror obvious in her eyes. The song frightened her, he could tell. And there was a feeling of dread settling in his own stomach as well, trying to overwhelm him if he gave it as much as half a chance. But he would not do that. He was a leader and it had been drilled into his head since early childhood that he could not show fear, not ever.

But humour he could do. If there was one thing he had learned from the advisor's presence, it would be that humour was a wonderful way to keep up the morale. It had turned out that it was as much needed as their swords and other weapons. It might be just what they needed now.

'They're serenading us, it would seem,' Thorin pointed out. The tone was not as light-hearted as he would have liked, but it would have to do.

But he had gotten his message across, because Kate shot him an incredulous look. 'You. Cannot. Be. Serious!' Oh yes, she definitely knew what he was talking about and if her reaction was any indication, she also knew what he was asking of her here.

He favoured her with his sternest look. 'You cannot give in to your fear,' he reminded her. 'They want you to.' These words had worked well enough in Goblin-town and he prayed they would again. The last thing they could use was for the advisor to lose her nerve.

But he needn't have worried about that. His reminder had the desired effect. In the light of the burning fires Thorin could see the defiant spark reappear in Kate's eyes and the set jaw to go with it. 'So now what?' she demanded. 'Do you now propose we give them a taste of their own medicine?'

Thorin raised an eyebrow at her. 'Unless you'd rather cower away in this tree and do nothing,' he countered.

Kate's face was still pale, but she nodded. He recognised this expression as one of deep thinking. But the thinking dragged on and for a moment he started to worry that her fear had clouded her thoughts, but then a hesitant smile appeared on her face and she threw the goblins' own song, albeit sounding more like song this time and with slightly different words, right back at them:

'_Dozens of rats and dogs down in the glade,_

_Why will they not run before it's too late?_

_Stupid little things do not know that fire burns hot,_

_O what shall we do with this sorry lot?_

_Sit up here and watch as they all burn;_

_Or see them run squealing at every turn?'_

And she had a good point with that as well, because one would say that the goblins and the wargs were actually in more danger of getting burned than the company was. Some of them were already burning, while three of the five trees that the dwarves had hidden in were still blessedly free of fire, although Thorin did not honestly expect that to last long. But for the moment it gave him hope to see that his men still were mostly safe. The dwarves that had been hiding in the burning trees were quickly jumping into neighbouring trees, extracting furious howls from the goblins when they realised that no dwarf was going to be cooked in near future.

Someone, possibly Gandalf, was shouting insult at the goblins as well, enraging them even further. Thorin could not make out the exact words from where he sat, not with the crackling of the fire and the howling of goblins and wargs drowning out every other sound, but there was no mistaking that taunting tone.

And insulting them was the only thing they could do right now. Strangely enough it helped the dwarf king enormously. It made him feel not completely useless, although he would admit right away that probably it would have been more dignified if he had just sat there sending glares at the goblins. But he could not really care anymore. This, it made him feel even slightly triumphant. And it was even better because the goblins were unable to reach them.

But his feeling of triumph was short-lived. More howling filled the air, drawing Thorin's gaze to the nearby hill from where the sound had come. His hopes sank as he realised that the goblins had gotten reinforcements. The smoke caused by the fire was making it hard to see anything at all, but Thorin would have recognised the leader of the orcs anywhere. There, in front of his troops, was a Pale Orc, astride a white warg. The Defiler had come.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _Murphy's Law in action for you: when in a crisis do not let the real events just follow book or movie. No, please, just let's follow them _both_!_

* * *

**So, that's it for today. Once again, I'm not that good at rhyming at all, so I hope I didn't make too much of a mess of it. I hope you enjoyed it anyway. And the chapter title is taken from the album of Christy Moore. It just seemed appropriate.**

**As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts, so please review?**


	24. Chapter 24 Hatred

**Chapter 24**

**Hatred**

_I think that at that point I had honestly managed to talk myself into believing that the events were really only going to follow the book. They seemed to have done so, at least where this crisis was concerned, and I think I had really wanted to believe it too. The book events were slightly less dangerous than the movie events I had come to learn, maybe because there happened to be a lot of action in the movie which was not there in the book. _

_Now, I am not quite sure when exactly I had started to tell myself that getting caught up in a tree in a burning forest was not so dangerous at all, but it wasn't. I don't know if any of you have ever found yourselves in a similar situation – and no, Thráin, Jack, I do not really want to know the answer to that question. I'm not sure my heart can take it – but if you have, you should know that it is not exactly a walk in the park. Things had been bad enough already when it had only been the goblins and the wargs threatening us, but when I finally got to see Azog the Defiler with my own eyes, I think my blood just turned to ice…_

**Thorin**

For a moment he was frozen into place, just staring at his sworn enemy as he in turn took in the scene from atop his warg, that was as pale as the monster that rode it. The Defiler had hardly changed at all. The only real change was the iron claw that had replaced the arm Thorin had hacked off at the battle of Azanulbizar.

'It can't be,' he whispered.

Next to him he could hear Kate let out a muttered curse. 'Damn it,' she growled. 'Bloody movie.'

Thorin recalled her saying that Azog only had shown up in the movie version of her story, even if he for the life of him still couldn't tell what a movie actually was. He had come to learn that at least it was vastly different from the book she was still carrying around at some points, and, as he realised just now, far more dangerous too.

He gripped the branch he was holding in some kind of death grip and tried to control his breathing. According to Kate he would run off and confront Azog in an attempt to look like what she called some kind of action hero. And he wanted to. Mahal knew he wanted to climb out of this tree here and now to put an end to the orc that had taken his grandfather from him, to end what he had begun at Azanulbizar.

But none of them would be helped with that. Kate had also mentioned eagles, that would come to get them out of here. If only they could hold out long enough. If only the fire did not reach their tree before help could come, then they would all be fine, but oh Mahal, did he want to go and end the Defiler.

'How long?' he growled at Kate, eyes still fixed on Azog, hands gripping the tree so strongly as if it was the only thing keeping him in place. He wasn't even sure that wasn't the case. 'How long until the eagles arrive?'

He only found himself on the receiving end of Kate's most angry stare. 'I am your advisor, Thorin bloody Oakenshield,' she hissed in a furious voice. 'Not Mystic Meg! I don't bloody know!' She was angry, true enough, but Thorin had been in her company long enough to know when she was scared as well. Kate tended to lash out at people, shouted to mask the fear and frustration she felt and started to use the word bloody a lot more than would have been necessary. 'The book doesn't exactly give me a minute-to-minute account of the events. It's meant as a children's adventure story, not a guideline for the actual quest!'

It was a good thing this tree was so old and strong. A younger, weaker tree would have been reduced to splinters by now due to the pressure Thorin put on it. Azog and his troops descended to the clearing, making the already present wargs and goblins nervous as well it would seem.

And Azog was definitely in charge here. The growling voice that made Thorin both shiver in fear and tremble in almost uncontrollable anger issued a few commands and then the goblins and wargs started to retreat. They weren't doing so willingly, but it was clear that they didn't fancy taking their chances against what appeared to be a small army of orcs and wargs that was clearly highly trained.

'What are they saying?' Kate asked in a hushed voice.

'He's ordering them to leave,' Thorin reported. He would never admit this when called on it, but her question was the perfect distraction from Azog. Without it he would probably have launched himself out of this pine tree already, determined to kill that orc and to hell with the consequences. The need for vengeance sang in his blood as strong as that day at Azanulbizar. Only Kate's warning that things would end badly if he acted upon this feeling held him back now and he did not know how much longer that would be of any use either. But there was also the quest he could not abandon. It _had_ to be more important than this burning desire - no, _need_ was the word – to put an end to the Pale Orc. 'He is telling them that by rights of his blood feud with my kin we belong to him.'

Kate frowned at him. 'You understand what he is saying?' There was some surprise audible in her voice, making Thorin realise that she had not really been expecting an answer out of him. She had just wanted to know what was going on, frustrated that she had no way of knowing because of the orcs using their own foul language.

'I understand their tongue,' Thorin replied curtly. He had not been keen to learn it, but his grandfather had insisted on it, stressing that in a battle situation it could be of vital importance to understand what your enemy was saying and so a much younger Thorin had submitted himself to learning to understand the foul language of the orcs. Their tongue was a harsh one, a tongue that made even the most innocent words sound like a curse. He had never learned to speak it himself, although he might be able to pull it off if a situation asked for it, but he understood what was being said and that gave him some kind of advantage over his enemies, because they did not speak his language. 'My grandfather made me learn it, long ago.' Before he was murdered by that monster that now stood in the middle of the glade. If only he had a bow, he could end this here and now.

But he did not have a bow and the Defiler was alive, sitting on his warg as if he was the laughing winner already. And he might even have reason to believe that he was. After all the dwarves were holed up in trees, with nowhere to go. They might well burn to death as soon as the fire reached their hiding places. And there was no way of knowing when, or even if, the eagles would come to their rescue. And Thorin could not just sit here and wait for death to come and claim him. He had stood up against Azog before in an equally threatening situation and he would not exit this life holed up in some tree like your average coward. He was better than that.

The last goblins had left the clearing. Thorin would bet that they would still hang back and wait to see what would happen now, hoping for the chance to get their hands on at least one dwarf they could torture and kill by way of avenging their dead king. But if they were, Thorin could not see them. The clearing was entirely filled with orcs and wargs that were clearly a part of Azog's army.

The Defiler leaned forward over his mount, almost stroking the white fur with the iron claw that now replaced his hand. Thorin could have sworn that his old enemy was looking straight at him, but with all the smoke and the little light there was, it was hard to know for certain. He could have been looking at something else entirely. Not that Thorin believed that to be likely. Ten to one that Azog knew exactly where Thorin was. He had seemed to have known that all the time and once again he recalled Kate's words back in Rivendell. _And while we cannot imagine someone talking to the enemy, I think you'll have to agree that _someone_ must have been spilling the beans. I don't think they just happened to come across our trail._ The longer he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed to become that someone Thorin had trusted was not that trustworthy after all. The thought made him want to throw up.

'_Do you smell it_?' Azog rumbled in the foul tongue of the orcs. The words were probably spoken to his army, but Thorin could feel a shiver go down his spine. Last time he had heard that voice it had been howling in pain after he had hacked the orc's arm off. It didn't sound so dangerous then. Now it was. '_The scent of fear_.' Azog's face twisted in a positively terrifying grin.

That might hold true for the company advisor, who had gone extremely pale, gripping the nearest branch to her as if it was the only thing that kept her alive. There might be some truth in that, because Thorin was almost certain she would just fall out of the tree the moment she let go. And with all those wargs and orcs down there that was unlikely to be an experience she was going to survive. At the moment the rest of his companions were not in a much better shape. Bombur looked a bit peaky and Bofur's face missed the usual grin. There were not many he could see from where he sat; the smoke obscured his vision, but he could see Ori in a neighbouring tree, looking as if he might faint any second now.

But Thorin did not feel fear. It was rage that was coursing through his veins, fed by his own sense of frustration that he seemed to be incapable of protecting his men time and again, depending on others to get them out of a tight spot. That was not the kind of king Thorin wanted to be. He had been taught to be in the front lines, to take all the risks he also asked his people to take. It was his duty to protect them best he could. It was also a duty he had failed in so many times. He had not been able to save his people from the dragon. He had seen so many of his kin die at Azanulbizar and he had not been able to do one single thing to stop that horror from happening. His people had been scorned and looked down upon, not only by other races, but even by other dwarves. The guilt for all this weighed heavily upon Thorin and now it mingled with the rage he felt over Azog's very alive presence here in the clearing.

'Something in the way you're looking tells me he wasn't telling you that you were looking good after all this time,' Kate commented. She was still very pale, but she managed to conjure up a wry grin that she sent in Thorin's direction.

Mahal be praised for humour and irony. He was not entirely sure what he would have done without it. Most likely he would already be torn to bits by Azog's vile pets. For now her comment kept him in place, prevented him from acting on his feelings to jump down and make Azog pay in kind for the crimes he had committed.

Azog's cold and unfeeling eyes turned towards their tree now, after having looked at the others, probably establishing that most of the dwarves – but the hobbit most definitely – were scared out of their wits. '_I remember your father reeked of it, Thorin son of Thráin_.' Azog held Thorin's gaze with his own as he said that, an evil smirk passing over the orc's scarred face.

Something snapped inside Thorin. Next to Thorin the branch he was holding also snapped under the force of his anger. But he could not help it. His father's death was a sore point for him. It always had been and it was unlikely to change anytime soon. _Thráin, Thorin's father, went mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed, we did not know_. That was what Balin had told the hobbit that night Thorin had his fight with the company advisor on the cliff. And until this day Thráin's fate had never been cleared up. Most supposed that he had died after some time had passed and they were still unable to find him. But his body had never been found. But that wasn't saying anything. There had been so many killed that day and many of them had never been identified. Thorin himself had seen the bodies. Many of them had been maimed so badly that not even their own mothers would be able to name them.

Thorin had allowed himself to believe that his father had been among them, that he had died honourably in battle, in spite of his grief. It was a better alternative than Thráin having been taken prisoner by the orcs, or dying a lonely death out there somewhere like a snivelling lunatic. It was a better option, but it was not what had happened.

Thorin could not even bring himself to doubt the Defiler's words. He had seen too many liars over the years and Azog may be many things, but he was not a liar. Azog was proud of what he had done and he thoroughly enjoyed the anger the son of his victim was experiencing. His gloating words had been a challenge and the dwarf could not let it go unanswered any longer.

Thorin's blood was boiling, rage filling him up from his head to his toes and he did not even fight it back anymore. He allowed it to take over, let the feeling wash over him until there was no room left for anything else to be felt.

He had not been quite aware of the fact that his body was descending down the tree of its own volition, until a hand grabbed him at the fur that lined his coat. 'What on earth do you think you're _doing_?' a furious voice hissed. 'Have you taken leave of your senses?'

Thorin glared at the company advisor. 'Ending him,' he replied curtly.

Whatever she thought about his intelligence, this answer seemed to confirm it for her. 'Have you not listened to a single word I said?' she demanded. 'If you do that, things will end badly for you. You'll be leading all of us straight into danger. Stay. Here!' she added as he decided to ignore her and move down despite her protests.

And how could she possibly understand what was happening here? She had no idea what this feud was like, what Azog had done to Thorin's family. She was as naïve as a new-born babe in that respect. 'You do not know what it is that he was talking about,' Thorin told her in as condescending a voice as he could manage. He would not go back on his offer of friendship, but it was well known that even friends quarrelled from time to time. And Miss Andrews was asking for it.

She tried to pull him back, which was just as much use as when she would have been pulling at a great rock. 'No, I don't,' she admitted. The words seemed to be coming from between clenched teeth. For the moment at least her fear had disappeared. 'But something tells me it wasn't exactly a compliment. He's trying to lure you out of this damned tree, you hairy buffoon! And right now, you are giving him exactly what he wants!'

If she thought that this was going to do the trick, then she was sorely mistaken. Because Thorin might be giving Azog what he wanted, but he would also give himself what he needed. That monster had taken his grandfather and father from him, all in the span of one single day. And indirectly he could also be blamed for the death of every other dwarf that day, including Thorin's own brother. He could not just sit here and wait to be rescued and let this miserable creature get away with mass murder. This wasn't just personal revenge anymore – even if that was a large part of it admittedly – this was about protecting his people from harm.

'Get your hands off my person, Miss Andrews,' he ordered the advisor. 'You would do well to remember your place in this company.'

Something flashed in her eyes, hurt maybe, or anger. Thorin could not be certain and it was gone before he could really get a closer look. But at least she released his coat from her grasp, only to immediately hit him full force across the face. This time he actually felt a stinging, burning sensation on his left cheek, for one moment leaving him stare at the advisor as he tried to understand what it was that she had just done. That gave Kate the opportunity to strike again, leaving him with a tender right cheek as well.

He grabbed her hand before she could strike again, as she was so clearly intending to do. 'What are you doing?' he growled at her.

'Knocking some sense back into that thick skull of yours,' the advisor countered. 'Not that there was much to begin with anyway.'

His anger was already burning and her actions and words only made that flame burn brighter and higher. 'It is not your place!' he snarled at her.

'Yes, it is!' she reacted. 'Gandalf brought me here so I could change things, remember? Well, like it or not, but I am not about to sit here and twiddle my thumbs while you go along and run straight off into the danger that I know to be there when I can stop it!' Her voice rose with every word she spoke. 'And you're my friend, remember? And excuse me, but I am not in the habit of letting my friends run off while I know this will end badly for them. What kind of a friend would that make of me?'

That gave him pause, long enough to look at her, really look at her, and see that she was still scared. But the fear was not because of Azog right now it would seem. The advisor was afraid for _him_. And that was a whole new experience for Thorin. He could not even remember the last time someone had been worrying about his personal wellbeing. Oh, people worried for his wellbeing all the time, but that had more to do with the fact that he was the king than with Thorin as a person. Their worry never was something even approaching personal and their concerns were in essence selfish. People wondered what would become of them if their king died. Kate was worried as a friend, worrying about the effects on him, which was a novelty, at least outside the family circle, because Balin and Dwalin counted as kin in Thorin's opinion. He could not for the life of him remember if anyone else had ever acted in such a fashion, but he didn't think so.

The anger was still there, urging him to go down and put an end to Azog's cruel deeds right here and now, but a small voice of reason told him that this also would be a suicide mission. The place was crawling with orcs and wargs. He would be torn to pieces before he could get even close to his archenemy.

His breathing was heavy and he had to fight hard against the disappointment that was trying its hardest to overwhelm him now that he could not do what he so desperately wanted to do. But it was a fool's errand and he knew it. And he could not, would not, risk the entire quest for personal vengeance. He had a mission and nothing should stop him from achieving the intended goal. It was a small consolation, but the reclaiming of Erebor would enrage Azog more than anything. Maybe that was to be his revenge, to achieve the thing Azog would hate most.

He hauled himself back up on the branch, favouring Kate with his sternest look. 'You will not hit me again,' he told her. It wasn't a real threat, since he wasn't sure what to threaten her with, but she understood it all the same.

It was only when his gaze involuntary wandered back to Azog that he realised that the Defiler had followed this encounter with interest. His stare was no longer fixed on Thorin now. It had settled on the company advisor and Thorin did not like the look he was giving her at all. There was cruelty there, and even joy, as if he had just discovered this Thorin's greatest weakness.

And maybe he had, because his new friend was absolutely horrible at fighting. Most of the company were not fighters by nature, but they at least knew how to defend themselves in case of an attack. Kate had no such skills.

Azog's eyes never even left Thorin and Kate as he spoke his next threat. '_If they will not come down to us, we must make them_.' The grin was so triumphant it was as if he had won already. '_Cut down the trees! Kill them all, but bring those two to me_.' His iron claw pointed at king and advisor. '_They are mine to end_.'

'No.' It was more of a defiance than an actual denial of the situation. That would not make sense, because Thorin already knew that this monster had no limits when it came to getting what he wanted.

'Something tells me he wasn't inviting us over for tea.' Kate tried to keep up the bravado, but she didn't fool Thorin. The fear and tremor in her voice were both too obvious to miss.

'He's ordered to cut down the trees.' Thorin's reply came from between clenched teeth.

And he was not going to sit here and let that happen. He had a duty to protect his people, and cowering up in a tree while Azog was going to kill them all by crashing them to the ground, that wasn't part of what Kate would call the job description.

The anger took over again and he gladly let it. Suicide mission or not, he would have to do this, if only to give his men a chance at survival. There was just no telling when or even if those eagles would come. They simply could not afford to wait and hope and pray that everything would work out.

'Stay here,' he ordered Kate.

She had been distracted by her own fear, but now the suspicious look was back in full force. 'What are you doing?' she demanded. The way she spoke would make one think that she was the one in charge and Thorin was a disobedient soldier.

He glared at her, furious that she seemed incapable of understanding what needed to be done. 'I cannot sit idly by and watch my men be slaughtered,' he snapped at her. And if he could succeed in killing Azog for real this time, that was just an added bonus, but it was not the main focus, not anymore. The moment he had realised he had a duty to his company, his people, he had also accepted that his personal vengeance would have to wait, as much as he hated that. 'Stay here as long as you can.'

He had seen Azog look at her as if she was going to be his next meal, not something that was entirely out of the question when there were orcs involved. He didn't think it likely, but it was always possible that the goblins' assumptions about Thorin and Kate being married had already reached Azog's ears. In that case she would even be in more danger and because of her inability to effectively protect herself, she would do well to stay as far away from the Defiler as she possibly could.

Kate looked at him with something that seemed to be a mixture of admiration, worry and terror, but in the end she nodded. 'Just try not to get yourself killed, will you?'

The flippancy worked for him and he managed to conjure up something of a wry smile. 'Do not make me believe you would not be glad to be rid of me.'

Kate snorted. 'Who would I argue with if not you?' she countered.

Who indeed. But somehow it felt good to have someone worrying over him. He gave the advisor a curt nod and descended the tree to do what was needed.

**Kate**

'Stay here.'

It was Thorin's best commander tone that broke through the haze of fear that had been threatening to overwhelm here, making her feel dizzy and unbalanced. She had no way of understanding what that Pale Orc was saying, but the very words sounded harsh and altogether evil. Azog's piercing look, filled with triumph, made her want to throw up on the spot, although she was pretty certain that that would not do her any favours either. There was something cruel in the Defiler's eyes and Kate was one hundred percent sure that this look would haunt her nightmares for weeks and months to come, if she lived long enough to have any, that was.

But right now her main concern was Thorin, who seemed to have gotten it into his head that he should go down to do God knows what to their attackers, even when they had just established that this would be a suicide mission to be sure. He could not really be serious about this, right?

'What are you doing?' she exclaimed. Clearly she had underestimated Thorin's desire for vengeance. He had accused her that she could not understand what he was feeling and in a way he was right. Kate had never been in such a situation and she sincerely hoped she would never be either. But she could see how passionate Thorin was about this. The moment he had heard the Defiler's insult, whatever it was that he had been saying to provoke the dwarf king, it had seemed to the company advisor as if he had become another person altogether. She hardly recognised the vengeful, cold man that had snarled at her and called her Miss Andrews as if that conversation earlier that day had never even happened. This anger, this hatred, it ran deep and was by all accounts stronger than Kate had even believed possible.

But she had believed that she had talked reason into him, that she had somehow averted the danger her new friend was about to dive into headfirst. Something that she had done or said had made him see reason. Or so she had thought.

'I cannot sit idly by and watch my men be slaughtered!' Thorin's expression spoke volumes. There was anger in his eyes again, ice-cold steel that made it clear to Kate that she had misinterpreted the situation entirely. This had nothing to do with vengeance. This was about protecting his people, his company.

And it made her fall silent. She had believed that she had some idea of who this dwarf was, in spite of his unreadable expressions and contradictory behaviour. Just now she had believed him capable of putting everything on the line for the sake of personal revenge, even whilst knowing that he would only run towards his own end. But that was the picture the movie had provided her with: Thorin storming at Azog to kill him for taking his father and grandfather from him.

But this, this was completely different. This was about fighting to draw the orcs' attention away from the others. It was about buying time for all of them. It was still suicidal and still reckless, but yet it was completely different. His motivations were as noble as Kate had never seen before and she could not help but admire him for it. Running off into danger knowing you were unlikely to come out of it alive, never mind unscathed, that was a total foreign concept where she came from.

There were protests dying to come out, but they died on her lips. Holding him back from this would be as foolish as it would be fruitless. Thorin's mind was made up and if he were to come out of this alive after all, he would never ever forgive her for trying to prevent him from doing what he believed to be his duty.

Thorin ordered her to stay where she was as long as she safely could do so and with a few quips, that hardly registered in Kate's mind, since she was far too busy trying to understand this enigma of a dwarf, he left her.

The orcs had already taken out their axes to try and bring down the trees that held members of their company. But Thorin's appearance changed their minds about that. They were under order to bring Thorin to Azog alive – if Azog's words were indeed the command he had spoken in the movie, that was – but they weren't about to stand by and let him slaughter their kind either.

And Thorin was a formidable fighter, with years and years of battle experience. And his example drew several other dwarves out of their trees. It was a hopeless case, because they were outnumbered at least five to one, but they were no less determined for it. Dwalin joined the battle field with a war cry in Khuzdul that would have sent Kate running for the hills without second thought if she had been on the receiving end of it. Fíli and Kíli charged into the battle as if they were made to be doing so. Ori had quite possibly been forbidden to join in, but he was putting his sling to good use, taking out wargs with deadly accuracy. The stones he sent at them seemed to be hitting them right in the eyes every time.

It was the kind of heroic last stand that ended up being praised in stories and songs and the longer it went on, the more useless Kate began to feel. Common sense told her that she was not a warrior, so that she would do best to remain in her tree and wait it out, but something else, a feeling that she could not even identify, urged her to go out, do something, be part of the company. By signing the contract she had thrown her lot in with them and now she should act the part.

_Don't be ridiculous_, common sense chastised her. _You are not a warrior. You'd be a burden to them, not a help._

But Kate had been in the habit of not listening to that voice for far too long. And in the end it was necessity that forced her hand. A neighbouring tree had caught fire not too long ago and now the flames had reached some branches above her. This forest was not too dry yet, but still it would not be long before the entire tree was ablaze and if she had the choice between dying with a sword in hand or being barbecued, she would take the first option any day. Dwalin had once told her that when in a fight one had, in a way, always a choice on how you would leave this life and he was right. And Kate Andrews would rather go down fighting than await her fate in fear.

_Well, Thorin did tell you to stay as long as you could_, common sense finally admitted. _Now would be the ideal time to leave, don't you think?_

And that were Kate's thoughts exactly. She climbed down as quickly as she could, rucksack strapped to her back. She was all too aware that the bag would hinder her movements in the fight, but she was just not prepared to leave that last link to home behind. Her holdall had gotten lost in Goblin-town and this was all she had left now. Impractical or not, this was not getting lost as long as she had a say in the matter.

The orcs had not missed out on her descent either. They charged at her, probably sensing that she was just as much use in a fight as a new-born babe, as Thorin had once so eloquently phrased it. But she had just decided not to go down without a fight and she would stand by that. And the little bit of experience she had gained in Goblin-town proved to be valuable as well, although, if she was perfectly honest, she just dodged most of the blows directed at her.

In hindsight she would never be able to tell how long her lonely stand lasted, but after what felt like hours, she finally heard a familiar voice next to her. 'Trying to get yourself killed, lass?'

'Nice to see you too, Dwalin,' Kate panted. She would not soon admit it, but she was eternally grateful for his interference. She knew she failed spectacular at any kind of fighting – not even her right hook was very impressive or dangerous – and her surviving thus far was more dumb luck than the result of her improved skills.

The dwarves tried to group around them, but as it was Thorin was the only one who made it to them. There were too many orcs hindering the others to get to them. The dwarf king was covered in blood. Most of it was black, which at least meant that it was not his own. It would seem that Kate had severely underestimated his fighting skills, but she was glad to see him again. Well, they were friends after all. She supposed she was entitled to.

The feeling did not appear to be mutual. 'What are you doing here?' he snarled at her.

'Well, it may have passed you by, but our tree just so happened to be on fire,' Kate pointed out, dodging another blow aimed at her head.

She had been afraid before, but the adrenaline had kicked in now and driven any sense of fear to the background. The fight had claimed her and there was simply no room left for her to feel anything else. _Keep this up and one day you'll be a real warrior_, a sarcastic voice commented.

They battled on. Thorin had given Dwalin some meaningful look just as he joined them. Kate was quite sure she had not been meant to see it, but she had. It had been an order without words and it didn't take her long to figure out what it entailed. With Thorin on her left and Dwalin on her right, it felt like she had attained some bodyguards, doing most of her fighting, keeping the orcs away from her as much as they possibly could. Protecting the woman, as they had been taught to do all their lives, no doubt.

The orcs were aware of that as well and saw this system as a weakness. It didn't take them long to separate Dwalin from them. The fight took him to another side of the battle, nearer the others, but Kate supposed that was just the way things were in battle. It didn't worry her, not when there were so many other things to worry about instead.

It was only when the orcs seemed to disappear from around them that her alarm bells started to go off. This could not be natural. There were too many orcs and they hadn't struck her as the types to throw in the towel and admit defeat when their opponents refused to die. And if that wasn't enough indication that something was terribly wrong here, then Thorin's rigid posture was. She could almost feel the tension and anticipation radiating off him and it certainly managed to put her on edge as well.

'Get behind me,' he growled at her.

In normal situations she would have argued. If there was one dwarvish trait that was getting on her nerves, badly, then it would not be their apparent lack of table manners or their almost blunt way of saying things. No, it was this protect-every-single-female-from-danger-attitude. She would have to admit that her fighting skills were severely lacking – she would not dispute that point – but it was more than a little annoying that they never gave her as much as a chance in battle. And all this protecting was screaming "weak member present here" for everyone with eyes to see.

But today was not a normal situation. There was something in Thorin's voice that made her obey without question. Kate had heard him shout commands, heard him snap and bark at anyone who did not obey his orders, but this was a command of a completely different nature. This one had been spoken in a low, calm voice. But it was too calm and Kate was not an idiot.

_And normally this is the point where the heroine of the story refuses to obey and tells him she'd rather die at his side than save her own skin by running away_, some sarcastic voice in the back of her head commented.

_Well, in case it had escaped your notice, I am not in love with him and helping him fight will most likely result in getting him killed, not save him from it_, common sense chimed in. And as much as Kate disliked that, it was quite possibly right. And she had been forced to admit already that she was more of a coward than an action heroine. If she needed any more proof of that, she only had to remember the flight through Goblin-town.

Hiding behind Thorin was easy really, since he was a lot broader in the shoulder than she was, but Kate could look over his shoulder and see the source of the danger they were in. The advisor had no idea when Azog had come so close, but when she checked, he had.

He had been impressive when she had seen him from the tree, but up close he was even more terrifying than he had been then. Azog was tall, even for one of his kind it would seem. All his subordinates were definitely less tall than he was. Or maybe his height seemed just that impressive because he was seated on the back of an equally white and equally huge warg, who gave the impression that it hadn't been fed for quite some time, since it was looking at Thorin and Kate as if they were its next meal. Saliva was dripping out of its mouth and it growled at them.

Her gaze wandered back to its rider, who was staring at them with barely concealed triumph in his eyes. He grumbled something in that language of his and while Kate could not understand what he was saying, it was clear from Thorin's expression that he did. The dwarf king took a deep breath, presumably to calm himself, and stared back at Azog. He did not reply to the words, not even when the Defiler spoke another few sentences that had Kate believe that he was at least saying things that were less than complimentary.

Around them the fighting continued, but Kate hardly took notice of it. Her world had shrunken to the small patch of forest that contained Azog, his warg, Thorin and herself. The rest of the world had ceased to matter.

'You will not have her.' She was startled a little when Thorin spoke eventually. The king's left hand slipped around her right. There was no reassurance in that touch. There was too much pressure behind it. His tension seemed to seep from his hand through her skin and right into her bloodstream. Whatever it was that Azog had said, it had unsettled her new friend, maybe even had him a little scared, even when that was a word she did not associate with the person of Thorin Oakenshield.

And it frightened her that whatever it was that the Defiler had said, it had been about her. Of course she had known that after Goblin-town word would get out that Thorin and Kate were a couple. She knew that as a consequence of that belief, she would be hunted just as Thorin was. But knowing and experiencing it for herself, those were two entirely different things. Right now, she wanted to do nothing more than to break into a run and get out of this wretched place as fast as her legs could carry her, even knowing that the warg would soon outrun her. It felt better than just standing here, waiting for the moment Azog would finally be done mocking and taunting them.

As it was Azog was not quite done yet. He let out a bark of laughter, which was infinitely more creepy than all the other things he had done so far. The laughter was followed by more words, probably insults, to which Thorin responded by gripping his sword even tighter. 'You will not have her,' he repeated. The words and the gripping of the elvish blade were more than sufficient to get the message across that this was a challenge. In a way it reminded Kate of the _You shall not pass! _sentence from Gandalf.

And Azog responded to the challenge right away. He laughed again and then, on some command that Kate could not for the life of her understand, the warg jumped right at them.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _What on earth have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

**I hope I got Thorin's motivations down all right. It made a lot of sense in my head, so I can only hope that it did to you as well. And all this is turning out to be quite longer than I had originally anticipated, but oh well, I don't think you lot mind, do you?**

**So next time there'll still be orcs, wargs and Azog himself. In the meantime reviews are still very much appreciated. I'd love to know what you think and suggestions are always more than welcome as well.**


	25. Chapter 25 Fight

**Chapter 25**

**Fight**

_Before that day I would have said that there were very few things that were more scaring than being chased by goblins through dark tunnels with hardly any light to go on. I learned that day that there were in fact some things that were worse. Having a full-grown warg jump at you knowing that monster has every intention of literally biting your head off is a prime example. But strangely enough that was not what got to me most. The most frightening thing perhaps was to have an enemy that was threatening and mocking us, while I had absolutely no idea what he was even saying. When the Great Goblin had been insulting us, he had done so in a language we could all understand and in a way that had not been as threatening as Azog's orcish rumbling. The Great Goblin we could pay in kind, spar with words as it were. With Azog I could only stand there and listen as the Defiler threatened to do Mahal knows what to us._

_But at least his actions spoke volumes. There was no need to translate the command he gave to that awful drooling overgrown dog of his, because it was all too clear what he wanted. The warg jumped from its place on a rock, making a beeline for us. And just as I started to believe that I was done for, something knocked me to the ground, out of the warg's path…_

**Kate**

'Ow!' For a moment Kate was not sure how she came to be on the ground. The wind was knocked out of her as she landed on the hard and stony forest floor, but the physical discomfort was the very least of her concerns. She knew that the warg had been making for her and it was only because of this timely intervention that she was still alive.

A white blur shot past her, growling as it went, the growl changing to a howl of pain as a sword seemed to come out of nowhere, cutting through the beast's fur, creating a bleeding wound.

The next moment she was helped to her feet and she found herself face to face with Thorin Oakenshield. 'Are you well?' he asked.

The realisation dawned on Kate that he had to be the one who had knocked her out of the way. Battle reflexes, she supposed, since she was not sure she could have pulled off such a feat in what little time they'd had.

She gave a curt nod. 'I'm unharmed.' Not entirely true, but at least that answer would stop that dwarf from fussing.

Thorin gave a nod of his own to let her know that he had heard her. 'I want you to run,' he told her. 'The orcs are occupied now. If you're quick, they will not miss you until it's too late.'

If Kate was really honest she would have to admit that she had wanted run away from this mess ever since it had begun and obeying the king should not have been a problem for her at all. But something was off with this command, enough to give her pause. It was only when she repeated the order in her head that she realised what it was. 'Wait, what about you?' She had already half turned away from him, but this made her turn back. 'It's you they're after, not me.' All right, they were after her, Kate knew. But they were only after her because Azog believed that getting Kate would be a way for him to get Thorin. On her own she was not important.

And she was one hundred percent certain that Thorin was aware of this himself. He was sending her away because he knew that the orcs probably would not bother going after her when they had their intended target within reach.

_Bugger that dwarf and his heroic tendencies!_ Kate thought angrily. He had given her an insight in the workings of his mind up in that tree. He would rather die than let any harm come to the company he had under his wings. He would not now abandon them, not in their hour of need. _Bugger that dwarf and his loyalty!_ If he wasn't careful then someday that loyalty was going to get him killed. That someday now of course could just happen to coincide with today, what with the way things were looking now.

Because really, she was a part of said company. She had signed the contract. Could she really run while her companions, her friends, were fighting for their lives? _Well, it's not as if you're that much good on a battlefield_, common sense reminded her. _You'd probably do best if you stayed out of their way and save them the worry._

But common sense could go to hell for all she cared. Kate Andrews had thrown in her lot with these dwarves and she seriously doubted that there was something in that contract that allowed the signer to back out when things got dangerous. Besides, she wasn't entirely sure she would ever be able to look at her own face in the mirror ever again if she took off now, running like the average coward.

No matter that she was scared out of her depth by the mere thought of getting caught up in a real fight again, she could just not run either. _Thorin's attitude must be catching. Now I know for sure I've spent too much time around him_. Same stubbornness, check. Same loyalty issues, check. All that was left now was the stupid brooding he seemed to be able to keep up for hours at a time and the list would be complete.

'I'm not going anywhere,' she told Thorin before he even got the chance to reply.

'You will be in danger,' the dwarf king told her, unleashing his best army commander look on her.

Kate ignored it. She had become quite good at that. 'What kind of a person leaves their friends behind to do battle with their enemies alone?' That was of course a rhetorical question. Her mind was made up. Frightened though she may be, she was not going to back out and hang back this time. For once she was going to do the right thing, whatever that was supposed to mean. And since when had she ever listened to Thorin's commands anyway?

At least Thorin had the good sense to recognise a lost cause when he saw one. 'I'm honoured to have you at my side.'

Really, she wanted to ask what on earth that was supposed to mean, but admittedly this was neither the time nor the place for such a conversation. Azog had turned his warg and was coming at them again, but at least this time they were more or less prepared. Kate's sword came into contact with flesh that looked remarkably like the Defiler's leg. She was just starting to feel remotely pleased with her own performance – Dwalin would definitely be proud of her – when the wind was knocked out of her again.

Next thing she knew she was flying, but before she even had the chance to wonder how that had happened, her back came into contact with something solid, feeling remarkably like a tree stump. The landing made her gasp for air all over again. The world looked blurry and Kate felt altogether dizzy. If this was some kind of cartoon she was positive there would be half of the Milky Way pictured circling around her head. The world seemed to have exploded, leaving her with a headache of legendary proportions.

_Yes, and now is not the time to pass out, girl._ It was only the realisation that she was still on a battlefield that helped her to push past the pain and dizziness and made her focus. She had obviously been promoted to the number two on Azog's hit list – apparently even literally so – and passing out would do her chances of survival no good at all. And she had come to the conclusion that she wanted to live. Dying was not something she intended to do anytime soon.

Kate could not say how much time had passed since she had been tossed across the forest like a rag doll, but everything had changed. When she got to her feet again Thorin was on the ground, not moving and there was one particularly nasty orc standing near him, blade in hand. It didn't take a genius to establish that he was not there to ask Thorin's professional opinion on the quality of said sword.

It was like seeing the movie play out right before her eyes. It was completely the same, minus the nearby cliff, but otherwise identical. In hindsight she might reflect that she could have hoped that Bilbo would intervene here in movie-style, but in the chaos of the battle that was not the first thing to enter her mind. All she could see was her friend lying there, unable to defend himself, with everyone who could be of use too far off to be of any use. None of them would get there in time.

It didn't stop her from trying, though. She was still not sure when she had actually decided that she did care for the grumpy dwarf king – she was actually quite sure that deciding had nothing to do with it whatsoever – but the fact remained that she did now. And they had decided to be friends – at least that had been a conscious decision – and friends did not let each other down. She owed it to Thorin to at least try.

'Oi!' she shouted in an attempt to get Azog's attention. 'Leave him alone!' The chances of him listening to that were non-existent, but at least this command made her feel as if she was doing something. And maybe, just maybe, this would distract the executioner long enough for someone to stop this from happening.

In that respect it had the desired effect. Azog turned his mount to look at her, that evil smirk still on his ugly face. His executioner had half turned as well, favouring her with a look that was so much like his master's that it would have sent the shivers down Kate's spine, if she had given herself the time to feel fear, that was. For now the worry for her friend forced every concern to the back of her mind. Never mind that there was still a battle raging on around her, never mind that at least half of the trees was on fire. Thorin's attitude must indeed be catching. He now had her forget about everything that would normally have scared her half to death.

Azog grumbled something again, none of which she could of course understand, but she didn't need to understand the words to recognise the tone. The Defiler was gloating. He knew he had won and he took great pleasure rubbing her nose in her inability to stop him from committing a murder.

'You bastard!' she shouted, the anger boiling over. The effect was not that impressive because of her panting. But she was confident he would get the message anyway. 'Take on someone your own size, big bully!' Hardly the stuff that would end up in songs, but it would have to make do. She wasn't doing this to end up in song after all.

Azog probably could not care less about the fact that she called him a big bully – he would have heard worse insults in his life – but the bastard one hit home. She had soon learned that it was not a common insult around here and it always meant that one was taking one's parentage into question. It wasn't just a way of saying you thoroughly disliked said person. Normally she tried to keep check of her own word choice, but right now it had just slipped out. It had not even been intentional.

But the fact remained that she could not have chosen a better insult. Azog's head swivelled in her direction and he bared his teeth at her, a gesture that was in some ways far more dangerous than anything else he had done so far. There was such a threat in something so small and had she allowed herself to feel anything at all, she would probably have turned on her heels and raced away in the opposite direction.

But her friend's life was at stake here. As unlikely as it had seemed when she had set out on this journey, that was what he had become. And that orc with the sword was still standing there, looking singularly unimpressed with her insults, and he was the one she would need to distract if this hare-brained scheme was to be successful.

As it turned out, it wasn't necessary to distract this one. In the chaos she had forgotten all about Bilbo. To be quite honest, she had not really seen him at all since this whole ordeal had begun, but she had thought he had been up in some tree or other and had at least the good sense to stay there while the rest of them were fighting. It would seem however that Bilbo listened to his common sense just as much as she tended to do, in other words, not at all.

The hobbit now used his full force to knock Azog's chosen executioner out of the way. The orc stumbled, tripped over some tree root and fell face-first to the forest floor, knocking himself out against the rock his head collided with. That was a stroke of luck, which they definitely deserved, or so Kate told herself. They had seen precious little of it so far, so really it was only fair that they should have some good fortune in the end.

Not that they were out of the woods yet, even literally so in this case. There was still this problem of Azog being around that needed to be addressed. For one moment he had been as surprised as Kate was, but then he let out a roar that made Kate want to run for the hills without as much as a second thought. He growled something at her, which the journalist could not understand, even though it would probably be safe to assume that it wasn't a casual remark about the weather.

Her hands clenched around the sword. She now found herself between Thorin and Azog, Bilbo somewhere next to her. They were all that the dwarf king had now. _And the two of us are hardly the stuff royal guards are made of_. The thought wriggled its way into her head, making her hands feel sweaty and her heart pound in her ears as if she had just ran the marathon instead of just a short distance.

'Thanks,' she whispered at Bilbo. _For doing what I could not_.

'Well, you said that I was meant to be here,' came the reply, although the hobbit did sound a bit shaky. Hardly a surprise in Kate's opinion. He had seen as much battle as the advisor, which was to say none at all before they had entered Goblin-town. This was as new to him as it was to her and it was showing too. The burglar clutched his sword as if his very life depended on it, which was not that far off the mark if only he knew how to wield it. And Kate knew his skills in that department were sorely lacking, as were her own. _Prime example of a royal guard indeed. _

'Yes, I know what I said,' she snapped at the halfling, a bit more irritable than she had intended because of the fear that was gripping her throat, making it difficult to think straight. 'But let's try to get out of here alive first, shall we?'

And that might be a difficult enough task anyway, because there was no doubt that the Defiler was a good deal stronger and better trained than either of them. Kate speculated how long it would take Azog to kill them both and a small voice in the back of her head wondered if it would hurt terribly much. That was doing her not much good either. The last place to get a full-blown panic attack was in the bloody middle of a battlefield.

_And Thorin's depending on you_, she reminded herself. _The two of you are all he's got now, so you better get a grip on yourself, Catherine Andrews, or he will pay the price for that_. It was that, having someone depending on her, that kept her grounded, prevented her from doing a runner. They had agreed on being friends and friends did not run away and left the other at some monster's mercy.

Azog barked something, presumably an order for them to get the hell out of his path.

But Kate remembered what Thorin had told Azog. _You will not have her_, he had said. And Kate now realised that the sentiment was mutual, as was the determination. 'You will not have him,' she growled. 'Not while I live and breathe.'

Too late she realised that this could and would be seen as a challenge, one that Azog was fully prepared to meet. He bared his teeth again. His warg mimicked the movement, the saliva still dripping from its jaws. There was something infinitely threatening about this and in that moment Kate was one hundred percent sure that she was indeed going to die. No one could reasonably hold out against this Pale Orc. Even Thorin had been injured by him and he was one of the best fighters Kate had ever encountered. What chance stood a hobbit and a woman if even the most experienced warrior failed?

But running was no longer an option. The journalist doubted that it had ever even been one. Running away had ceased to be an option when she had accepted Thorin's offer of friendship, no matter how unlikely or unorthodox the friendship. And quite frankly she was done with the hiding anyway. She had been telling herself for far too long that she was not a part of this, that she did not care for these dwarves, all out of fear that she would hurt herself when the moment came to leave. But she did care for them and she was a part of this. She had been ever since she had signed that contract. She might as well admit it. The way things were looking now going home was never going to happen anyway.

There came some kind of command from the Defiler's mouth, doubtlessly a kill order spoken to the group of orcs that had assembled behind Azog, but they never got a chance to act on it. There was some kind of mighty roar coming from their left and next thing Kate knew there were dwarves charging what appeared to be Azog's elite troop. Speaking about a rescue in the nick of time.

Kate was torn between joining in – something must be seriously wrong with her brain if she was even as much as considering fighting out of her own free will – and staying with Thorin. Bilbo had already made his choice, charging into the fray with much more enthusiasm than Kate had ever believed him capable of. The hobbit clearly had found his courage and Kate envied him for it. She herself was still far more afraid than anything else. Inside she was trembling. No, she definitely wasn't feeling very brave right now.

That might have been the reason she opted on staying with Thorin. And, so she reasoned, there were still far more orcs out and about than she liked and leaving the barely conscious king right in the middle of a battlefield seemed like a very stupid thing to. The battle seemed to have moved a bit away from them, but Kate did not feel inclined to leave her spot. Cowardly or not, she was going to stay.

Thorin wasn't unconscious, although Kate wouldn't want to say that he was completely compos mentis. He had his eyes half closed and had difficulty breathing, but his fists kept clenching and unclenching, one of those tell-tale signs that he was still fighting. It was a good sign, Kate supposed. It was also a sign that Thorin was still as stubborn as he had ever been. He was still trying to fight in spite of being all but passed out.

'How is he?' She was startled when she heard Dwalin's voice behind her, although she tried not to show it.

'Alive,' Kate replied. And that was probably the best that could be said of Thorin's current condition.

'We need to get him out of here,' the warrior decided.

Kate was in no mood to argue. 'How?' It was pretty obvious that the dwarf king could not walk on his own right now and she was hardly built to carry anyone, let alone a full-grown dwarf with all his heavy armour on. She doubted she could even drag him as much as a centimetre from his place now. Dwalin was much better suited for that job.

And the warrior at least seemed aware of that. He was already bending over to lift Thorin up when an on storming orc prevented him from doing what he needed to do. It forced Dwalin to turn around and take on his attacker, trying to get it as far away from his king as possible.

'Get him out of here,' he barked at Kate. 'Do it now!'

He had turned his back on her, fighting three orcs at the same time, before she had even the chance to ask how on earth she was supposed to be doing that.

**Thorin**

The world had become altogether hazy and blurry since he had been respectively hit by Azog's mace, been bitten and chewed on like a bone by the Defiler's warg and then been tossed across the glade as if he weighed nothing at all. There was pain everywhere and he could feel the unconsciousness tugging at the edges of his mind, but if he would give in to it, there was every chance of him never waking up again, he knew that. And Thorin Oakenshield was not ready to die already. There was a quest that needed him and companions to look after. He could not leave them. He was their leader.

He tried to move, grab his sword, get to his feet, but his body made a point of ignoring the orders he gave it. All he managed was to clench and unclench his hands into fists and that was hardly going to stop Azog from putting an end to him. He needed to do something, _anything_.

His hearing seemed to have suffered from the blow as well, or else it was just the dizziness that prevented him from hearing straight. He blamed it on the last. A few moments – or hours, it was difficult to make it out with all the chaos around him – he had been almost sure that he had heard the advisor shout insult at Azog, but he soon dismissed it as a product of his imagination. Kate had been injured herself when he last looked, but she would be no longer important to Azog. Now that the Defiler had his remaining hand on the prize he had been hunting for so long, she did no longer matter. Kate had only been a means to an end to him. He would not bother with her anymore.

The same could not be said for the hobbit, who had knocked Azog's chosen executioner out of the way just as he was about to strike. Thorin could not even begin to fathom why the burglar would do such a thing. He must have some sort of death wish Thorin hadn't known about, because there was no reasonable explanation for this behaviour. The king had expected the halfling to run as fast as his short legs and hairy feet could carry him, straight back to his comfortable hobbit-hole, as far away from the danger as he could get. Mr Baggins had made it more than clear that he had no ambition to be here on this quest and if Thorin were to die, that would probably mean that he could return home, because without Thorin this company would indeed be leaderless. And he seriously doubted the possibility of the others accepting Gandalf's leadership.

He strained his ears when there were voices nearby, but he could not make out what they were saying. What he did hear was that one of the voices belonged to Mr Baggins. Now that was not really a surprise, since he had saved Thorin just a few short seconds ago. His companion however took him by surprise. Thorin knew that voice. It belonged to the company advisor.

'You will not have him.' The tone was as determined as he had ever heard it, even as there was a slight tremor to it, indicating that its owner was more than a little nervous. 'Not while I live and breathe.'

And what was she even doing here? He had told her to run, a command that Kate had obviously ignored. Was she suicidal as well? What had brought her back here? Was she completely unaware of the fact that she might just die?

He fought harder to hang on to his consciousness. Passing out would do none of them any favours, but oh Mahal, did he hate to feel so useless, so powerless! Thorin had gotten himself injured on numerous occasions – he had lost count long ago – but never as bad as this and he hated the feeling of not being able to lift a finger, knowing that his companions were out there, fighting for their lives. And he had been reduced to a burden, a liability, everything he had once accused Kate and Mr Baggins of being. And it were exactly those two persons standing with him, defending him despite their obvious inability to do so. The world had turned upside down, as Kate would phrase it.

'Run,' he ordered her, but he could hardly hear his own voice over all the noise of the battle. Kate would never even hear him. She was too far off.

And the world was already blacking out around the edges. He had trouble keeping his eyes open, making the world seem like a blur of shapes and colours to him. And it would only be a matter of time now before he could no longer fight it and fall into unconsciousness. Fighting didn't seem to be of any use, just like it had been no use fighting against Kate's knowledge. It was a fight he was doomed to lose right from the start, before that battle had even begun.

He regained some of his awareness when he felt someone pulling at his arms, trying to drag him away, with trying being the operative word. But injured or not, Thorin was not about to let himself be dragged off to Mahal knows where by Azog's vile soldiers. He started struggling again, trying to be as heavy and as uncooperative as he could possibly be. He may not be able to put up a real fight, but he wasn't coming quietly either.

'Will you stop it, you royal imbecile?' A voice penetrated his mind. 'I'm trying to help you here! The least you can do is help me as much as you can.'

In Thorin's confused state of mind it took him several seconds to identify the voice. 'Kate?' Surely she could not be doing this? He knew she was stubborn, but he also knew that battle frightened her beyond anything. And he was by now quite convinced that she did have some sense of self-preservation. By all rights she should be halfway back to the Shire by now. Why was she still here? And, more importantly, why was she trying to drag him away?

'Congratulations, your observational skills are as good as they ever were.' The reply was sarcastic, but Thorin was not fooled. He had heard her bravado before, had become quite familiar with it. It was Kate's way of dealing with situations she thought she could not face head on. Her humour, irony or anger was just a mask she chose to hide behind. It was her way of not showing the world her fear, but Thorin strongly suspected that it was also meant to not admit to herself how frightened she was.

'What are you doing here?' In his head it had been a well-formulated question, but the words coming out of his mouth sounded slurred, even to his own ears. He sounded like your average town drunkard, for Mahal's sake.

But the advisor had apparently understood what he had been saying. 'How about getting you out of here?' she shot back. 'Dwalin's orders.'

She pulled his arms again and Thorin could not bite back a groan as the pain wrecked his body as a result. He knew it was bad, but this pulling at his arms made him feel just how bad things actually were. It was pure agony, the likes of which he had never felt before. His skill on the battlefield had always prevented him from ending up in such a state. But against Azog he had been as helpless as a new-born babe. And if he already lost against Azog, then what chance did Kate stand?

'You should leave me.' The words had been meant as a thought only, but they came out of his mouth before he could think about it twice. But he meant them. It was his responsibility as a leader to save as many lives as possible and commanding Kate to stay with him would be sacrificing her life. Thorin knew he would die here, much as he fought against it, and it would be no good to anyone to ask Kate, or anyone else for that matter, to die with him. At least Kate had a life to go back to, friends and family waiting for her. She least of all should risk her life for a quest that had never been hers to begin with.

She either hadn't heard him or pretended not to hear him. Thorin wouldn't rule out either of those two. The advisor was incredibly stubborn when she wanted to and once she had an idea in her head, not all the orcs in the world could get it out again. And as much as Thorin would love to live and complete the quest he had begun, he would never want to complete it if it meant that his companions would have to give up their life for him.

Kate was panting. Thorin could hardly see her, but he could hear her pretty well. 'You should… cut back… on calories,' she hissed. 'You know, lose… some weight.'

In any other situation Thorin would have been insulted. He was definitely not fat and the advisor suggesting that he was, that injured his pride. Among his own people no one would ever have dreamed of uttering such a thing, but of course Kate was blissfully unaware of just about every rule of dwarvish society and her own didn't seem to value propriety and rules very much if her behaviour was anything to go on.

But none of that really mattered now. Because he may be injured, concussed and confused, but he hadn't lost his wits along with his ability to move of his own volition. He could hear the battle was still raging on. Anytime now some orc could see Kate moving. Or, even worse, Azog could see her. And that would surely mean both their ends.

'Leave me,' he ordered again, as loud as he could.

Kate's dismissive huff was somewhat less impressive than it could have been. She was still out of breath, trying to move him away. And Thorin could not deny that he had indeed moved somewhat, although it could not be very far at all. 'Dream on,' was the only reply he got out of her as she renewed her efforts.

The dwarf weighed his chances of persuading her to see his point and found them slim to none. This woman was far too stubborn for her own good. And in this kind of situations, that headstrong attitude might just get her killed.

And he could not for the life of him understand why she would be willing to take such a risk. He had been less than nice to her for most of the journey and how they had ended up as friends was yet something of a mystery to him. But he also knew that Men were not as loyal in their friendships as dwarves were. And as a result of that he had expected Kate to run when he told her to. Instead she had opted on staying with him, even when she was almost scared out of her wits. That kind of loyalty was a dwarvish trait, not a human one. And he could simply not wrap his head around it.

Unfortunately his fear about the orcs coming for them came true hardly a minute later. Thorin had been trying to be as cooperative as he could be, but he still felt like a dead weight. He still had trouble breathing, although having something to focus on did help in keeping the darkness as the edges of his vision at bay, and he groaned in pain from time to time. All this pulling at his arms hurt more than he was willing to admit, but he was not a child anymore. He could not and would not give in to his urge to scream every time the advisor unknowingly and unwillingly made things worse.

And then she suddenly let go off him. He was about to ask what she was doing, but then the answer presented itself. 'Get. Away. From. Him.' The words seemed to come from between clenched teeth and Thorin wondered if he was the only one who heard the tremor in the advisor's voice.

The other person, the one she had spoken to, merely laughed, or maybe cackled was the word. 'Get out of the way, girl.' Whoever this was, he was not within Thorin's line of sight, but it would be a fair guess to say that this was an orc.

The dwarf king forced his eyes further open, willing himself to sit up and see something beyond the moving shapes and colours. His hands found a tree trunk behind him and he pulled himself up against it. He hated how much effort it took him and how much pain such a simple action caused. By the time he had managed to sit up he was sweating, panting and biting back screams of agony. But he was the king and he would not be seen crying like a baby.

He sought out Kate, finding her a good few steps away from him, trying and failing to get her sword out of its scabbard. But for some reason it was stuck and she couldn't seem to be able to get it out. The orc that was facing her thought this very funny for some reason. He didn't jump at the opportunity this was, instead standing there, laughing, mocking the advisor.

'No need for you to die,' the orc pointed out, his eyes taking in Kate's body as if it was something edible. 'Just get out of the way and we can end this.'

Kate gave up on her efforts to unsheathe her sword, backing away. Thorin could only see her back, but he had come to know her quite well over the last few weeks. There were these small signs giving away exactly how she felt about this: the hands balled into fists and the rigid posture were dead giveaways.

'Leave him alone,' she growled again. She knelt down, her eyes never leaving the goblin. At first Thorin wondered what on earth she was up to, but when she got up again she held his oaken shield in her hands. Maybe that backing away had not been in fear. Maybe it had been intentional and in that case it could just be that this woman knew what she was doing. And the steady voice when she spoke again just seemed to confirm that. 'When's the last time you've seen a dentist?'

A _what_? Fortunately the orc also seemed to have no idea what the advisor was talking about. He had gradually come closer, sword drawn, but Kate's question seemed to stop him dead in his tracks. There was a puzzled expression on his face.

But not for long. 'Because your teeth look perfectly rotten from where I am standing.' Thorin could see her hands gripping the shield tighter, even though she was holding it all wrong. This was not the way one wielded a shield. Had Dwalin not managed to teach her at all? 'So let me relieve you of that terrible burden.'

As it turned out, Kate had no intention of using the shield as a shield. She swung it like a club, right into the orc's face. The orc in question had not anticipated such an action. He too had probably assumed that the advisor would hide behind it, not use it as a weapon. And now he paid the price for underestimating her. Kate's first swing smashed out several of his teeth, making the foul creature howl. Whether it was in anger or in anguish, Thorin did not know. And it hardly mattered. Kate swung the shield again, a little higher this time and it hit the orc on the temple while he was still howling, effectively putting an end to the dreadful noise.

Kate staggered back, seemingly as surprised by her own actions as Thorin was. She all but dropped the shield, staring at the unmoving form of the orc in what appeared to be absolute horror. Thorin recalled that she had a similar reaction after the fight in the caves. It strengthened his opinion that his new friend was not a warrior. She could and would fight tooth and nail when her life depended on it, and apparently the lives of her friends as well, but afterwards she appeared to regret her actions.

Thorin tried to get up again, hating the fact that he could do nothing with every fibre of his being. He was reminded of why he had not moved until then when the pain returned as he moved, causing him to let out some kind of muffled cry that he found himself incapable of biting back before it was too late.

At least this gained him Kate's attention. She swivelled around and sent him her usual disapproving glare. 'Sit down, you hairy idiot. You're not supposed to be moving at all. Óin is going to have my head for this anyway. Better not to make it any worse.' And there it was again, the humour, a shield that seemed to serve her better than the one she was clutching as if her very life depended on it.

And Thorin found that talking helped him focus, helped to keep his dizziness under control. He was already breathing more easily since he had worked himself into this sitting position; his armour didn't weigh down so heavily on his chest, even if it did feel restricting. 'Should you not be a bit more concerned that one of those orcs might do the job before Óin can even get to you?' he inquired.

The angry scowl on her face told him that she did not think this funny or reassuring. True, the fight had moved away from them somewhat. If Thorin really strained his eyes he could see Azog on the other side of the glade. Balin and Dwalin had somehow managed to drive the Defiler back to some burning tree, putting the Pale Orc in danger of catching fire and burning to death, a scenario of which Thorin heartedly approved. Azog's mount was nowhere to be seen and Thorin thought it a safe assumption to say that that beast had died.

Or maybe not. There was a low growling coming from their left, making both king and advisor swivel their head in the direction of the noise. And it also became very clear where Azog's mount had gotten to. Its rider may be on the other end of the clearing, but the warg itself was not. It had approached them while both of them had been too preoccupied with the orc Kate had now knocked out and there was no time to run, even if Thorin had been able to walk and they had actually a place to run to, which they hadn't. And Thorin strongly doubted the possibility of the advisor knocking out a full-grown warg with his shield.

Kate staggered back, bringing her next to Thorin. She looked torn between wanting to shout and wanting to run, or do both, but she held her ground and kept quiet, keeping the shield in front of her.

'Nice doggy,' she said, sounding altogether terrified. 'Now be a good boy and go.'

What in Mahal's name did she think she was doing? Was she honestly convinced that this would help her in her goal to keep the beast far away from them? Was she really that naïve or was this too just a way of dealing with her fear?

And then the warg was gone. If Thorin had blinked he would have missed out on it entirely. Something fell down from the sky and grabbed the warg in large talons before taking off again, leaving the dwarf and the woman stare at the spot where the beast had stood.

For a moment his confused brain refused to understand it, but then Kate whispered 'The eagles' and he remembered, remembered Kate telling him that the eagles would come to their aid. She had no idea at the time when that would happen, but it would appear that now was the time. And now that he realised what was happening he felt the relief wash over him. Mahal be praised, they had been saved.

The eagles came swooping into the clearing in great numbers, picking up wargs and orcs left, right and centre. Where they took them, Thorin did not know and neither did he care. For now it was just enough that they were gone. Everything else could wait until a later moment, a moment when he was not in pain, not concussed and preferably had a few good meals and some sleep as well. It was only now that he was injured that he realised how weary he was. He could not even remember the last time when he had really slept well. But Thorin was a king. He of all people should know that he could not give in to the demands of his body while his company was still in some form of danger. But it had become very hard all of a sudden to keep his eyes open. The exhaustion, the injuries and the knowledge that the worst was over made short work of what Kate called the adrenaline, the thing that had kept them all running while they were still in danger.

He hardly even noticed it when the ground disappeared from under him.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _I knocked out an orc with a shield, I called a warg a "nice doggy" and I shouted at Azog the very big and very ugly Defiler that he was a bastard. I am starting to fear for my sanity. What on earth do I even think I'm doing?_

* * *

**Well, I hope this lived up to expectations. For me it was great fun to write and I hope you loved reading it. And I'm saying it again, thanks for the guest reviews! I appreciate each and every one of them.**

**Once again, reviews will be very much appreciated. I'd love to hear what you thought about this one.**


	26. Chapter 26 Flight

**Chapter 26**

**Flight**

_The eagles were like a gift from heaven. I would be the last person to deny such a thing. Still, there was something rather unnerving about seeing those enormous birds come down into the clearing, taking out our attackers as if it was something they were doing every day and had no problems with whatsoever._

_And I of course knew what was coming after that. The eagles would deal with the orcs first and then come for us to get us out of this smoky, bloody and altogether horrible place. So far, so good. I even knew that they were not here to harm me. Still, I don't think there are very many people who would not want to wet themselves with fear when they see an enormous eagle come down to them, picking them up to take them away to Mahal only knows where. Part of me even wished to remain here, opting on walking away rather than flying._

_Naturally that was not one of the options and so I had to settle for closing my eyes and suppressing the urge to scream when I felt one huge claw roughly the size of my entire torso – if not bigger – encircle my waist, lifting me up from the ground and carrying me away._

_Now I am almost certain that most of you would think this an interesting experience. But I think that even you would think again when you made the mistake of actually looking down from such a height, realising exactly how far away that safe and steady ground is, realising also that said ground will not be safe and steady at all if you were to fall that very second. I had never been afraid of height, but taking a trip by eagle definitely swayed my mind on that account…_

**Kate**

Kate thought she might throw up. She had just made the very bad mistake of looking down. The eagle that was holding her within its grasp was flying at great height and they had just passed some gorge or other, making Kate realise that the ground was indeed very far below her now.

She had never been a great fan of flying. The mere thought of boarding a plane had caused waves of nausea. She blamed those sodding shows that analysed plane crashes in detail for her fear of everything to do with flying. Jacko had loved those programs a few years back and consequently Kate had seen her fair share of them as well. It had completely destroyed her confidence in the whole flying business.

Now of course the eagle was not a plane and would not drop out of the air because of engine failure or, heaven forbid, some kind of terrorist attack, but that did nothing to soothe her stomach or her fear. It was cold up here, but Kate's hands felt sweaty. She could not reach the eagle's claw with the way she was being held, so she settled for clinging to Thorin's shield for dear life, conveniently banishing the thought that this would do nothing whatsoever to save her life if she were to fall to the back of her mind.

She tried to distract herself from this very unpleasant situation by looking at Thorin, who was being held in the eagle's other claw. The dwarf king seemed to have passed out. It was a small wonder after all he had been through, Kate supposed. She had not seen him getting injured, since she herself had been rather preoccupied at the time, but if he had even suffered half as much as he had in the movie then it surprised her that he had remained conscious for so long in the first place.

And he looked altogether pitiful right now. The dwarf was most definitely far paler than was healthy and he was sporting several bleeding wounds that made Kate cringe inside. Her common sense immediately told her that this was a very foolish thing to be doing, because it would be rather stupid of her to start caring about someone she would have to leave behind at the end of the quest. It was foolish to form attachments in this world. All it would leave her with was a desire to see people she could never meet again once she was back in her own world.

But in that regard it might already be far too late, because if she was really honest with herself, she would have to admit that she was already caring for her companions. Some were just friends, like Thorin, others were siblings, like the Ri brothers. And that was perhaps the strangest thing she had ever experienced. Kate had always had a brother, and had been rather close with him as well, and the dwarf brothers had effortlessly come to fall in the very same category. They were providing her with both a family and ties to this world she still was a foreigner in.

And yet it also made her feel like she was being torn in two, each half being pulled in another direction. One part of her desperately wanted to go home and see her family again, while another part was starting to feel at ease – too much so probably – with the current company. And she was one hundred percent convinced that returning to her own world would not magically cure her from the bonds she had formed here. Oh, she had no doubt whatsoever that she would love to see her family again – even if she could never tell them where she had been for fear they would think her insane – she would surely miss her new family as well.

'Bugger those dwarves!' she muttered under her breath. She had not quite intended to speak those words out loud, but she meant them. Why, oh why had Dori even wanted to practically adopt her into his family in the first place anyway? Surely it could not be just because of the whole she-saved-my-little-brother-from-the-big-bad-warg- business? That would be taking gratitude a bit too far in Kate's opinion. And quite frankly it was just ridiculous, this. She was not a dwarf. She was not even a halfway decent fighter and there hadn't been too much saving going on when she had knocked Ori out of the way. It had just been her tripping and falling, something Dori had not seemed to understand at all yet.

All of this did make her realise though that things got only more complicated the longer she stayed with this company. And these new friendships, they frightened her. She had been fighting to be accepted from the moment she had signed that blasted contract, but now that she was, it scared her more than fighting orcs, or flying with an eagle. Their faith in her abilities was something Kate could never have predicted, but it already felt like she was suffocating under the weight of their expectations and hopes. And she found she could not handle that.

_I need to get out of here_. The thought settled in her head and refused to go away again. But she agreed with it. Both these expectations that she would never be able to live up to and these friendships that bound her to a world she did not want to be bound to made her wish for home. It made her wish for life to be simple, predictable, like it had always been. Novels about adventures were all very nice, but right now she came to the conclusion that she did not want to be _in_ them. _But how do I get out of here?_

There was no answer to that question now, but at least it had distracted her for a while and that had to be worth something. The eagle was still flying. Somewhere in the distance the sky was starting to colour a much lighter shade of blue than it had been previously. Dawn could not be that far off anymore. Unfortunately this also meant that she could see the ground much better than she had before and that was not too good for her stomach, that had been calming down a bit when her mind had been on other topics. It made her wish that this journey would soon be over, because this might just induce another round of vomiting.

And things only got worse when the eagle suddenly dropped quite a few metres before flying in the right direction again. Kate's stomach felt like it had remained on their previous height though and she had to swallow hard to keep herself from forgetting all about her intention not to throw up.

But the anger now replaced the nausea. 'Do that again, you big feather ball, and I swear to God I'll make a pillow out of you!' That might not be the wisest thing to shout at an enormous bird who could just decide to drop her the moment he had enough of her, but the words were out before she could stop herself. The exhaustion seemed to have robbed her of the ability to think first and act later.

Oh, how she wished for an opportunity to lie down and sleep to her heart's content. Most of the adrenaline had gone by now and the only a weariness remained. She felt tired to her bones. If Gandalf's assessment of the situation was right they had been inside the mountains for at least two days and she hadn't slept in there. The effects of that were all too obvious now. For a moment she even envied Thorin, who had remained blessedly unconscious throughout the entire flight. How he did it was entirely beyond her, but she envied him for it all the same.

But at least this journey appeared to be nearing its end. In the distance she could see something that looked like the eagles' nests, spread out over the mountainside. _So, that means we're not getting straight to the Carrock_, Kate thought. _Following the book again, are we?_ Sometimes she found herself hating the fact that those two were both true. Her job would be so much easier if the real events just followed one of the two. But life wasn't meant to be easy, she supposed. The last few days were proof enough of that.

The eagle had gone into a descend for real now, slowly circling down before reaching his nest. For a moment the company advisor foolishly wondered if the beast would forget about her and Thorin and put his full weight on them, but fortunately he dropped them softly and hopped a small distance away from them to give them some space.

Thorin was still sleeping, something Kate wished she could do as well, but there was still an eagle standing there and she supposed she might need to thank him for coming to the rescue when they needed it most.

'Thank you,' she forced herself to say, looking up to meet the bird's huge eyes. 'You really helped us out there.' It was probably not the polite way of expressing thanks in Middle Earth, but Kate wasn't really educated in eagle etiquette, so this would have to do. 'We are in your debt.'

The eagle in question fixed her with an intense stare. 'We are always glad to cheat the goblins and orcs of their sport,' he replied. The creature looked like a very dignified one, making Kate believe that this one must be pretty high up in the ranks of its kind.

_And here you are, conversing with a talking bird_, her brain commented. _Middle Earth meets Narnia. _

It felt very surreal to the company advisor. But that might also be the natural result of being so exhausted. Her brain was hazy and she felt slightly unbalanced. Come to think of it, this would have to the longest she had ever gone without sleep and she found she didn't like it at all. It wasn't an experience she was anxious to repeat anytime soon. And really she was hoping that this overgrown eagle – since when were they so huge anyway? Were all the animals in Middle Earth so much larger than at home? – would leave her alone so she could catch some hours sleep as she by now was very desperate to get. Her gaze strayed to where Thorin was lying, obviously completely unaware of everything that was going on around him. He looked more asleep than unconscious despite his injuries. Lucky guy.

'Well, I am thanking you all the same.' Kate supposed that was only fair. Without the eagles' interfering all of them would be dog's food by now, or worse. 'And I apologise for insulting you,' she added as an afterthought, knowing that was quite possibly required of her. And she should really not have insulted this eagle. He had rescued her after all and giving back insult was a very poor repayment indeed. And no matter what had caused her to threaten her rescuer to turn him into a pillow, it was still inexcusable.

The eagle accepted that apology with a graceful nod of the head. 'You need to sleep, little fledgling,' he told her. 'Rest here.'

That had Kate looking at him in suspicion. 'And what will you be doing, if I may be so bold to ask?' She trusted this bird, really. After all, he had taken her out of that living nightmare and he hadn't dropped her during the flight either, not even when she had shouted insult at him. But it was quite another thing to go to sleep in what obviously was his nest, where she had no business being really. Besides, it didn't seem big enough to accommodate all three of them.

'There are still goblins out making mischief,' the eagle replied. 'We must deal with them.' Dealing with them here obviously having the meaning of finishing them off, an arrangement Kate found herself absolute in favour of. She didn't consider herself a violent person – the fiasco in the caves of Goblin-town had made that all too clear to her – but that didn't mean that she wanted those nasty creatures to get away with the crimes they had doubtlessly committed. And if the eagles managed to get their hands, or rather talons, on Azog while they were at it, all the better it would be for them. But why on earth eagles would describe the goblins' and orcs' behaviour as mischief, as if they were naughty boys who had been caught doing something they were not supposed to do, that was entirely beyond her. But Tolkien had used the same words in the book, so she supposed she should not really have been that surprised.

'Well, then I am wishing you good luck,' Kate replied a bit hesitantly, because she had no idea if that was even considered the appropriate response. Next time she saw Balin she really had to ask him to teach her something about the etiquette of this world. Her experiences so far had taught her one important thing: her knowledge on that particular subject was severely lacking. And it would seem she was stuck in this place for a while yet – unless of course she was able to come up with a good plan to get home – so she might as well try and learn some of their ways. It would help her enormously in not making a complete fool out of herself.

The eagle inclined his head again and took off, leaving her to her own devices. The exhaustion had settled in for real now, but Thorin was still lying there, looking positively bad. He was still unconscious, still bleeding from some rather serious looking wounds and still far too still to be healthy. She had never seen anyone lying so still before. If she had not seen his chest rise and fall with his breathing, she would have believed him dead.

But she did not think Thorin was in mortal danger. He had a lot of wounds, true, but none of them were looking like they were fatal. And dwarves, Kate had learned with time, were the most hardy creatures in the world. They were made to endure. _Thank Mahal for being in the possession of some common sense_, her brain commented. If dwarves were so prone to get into trouble, they had at least been provided with strong bones and the stubbornness to fight against their injuries. A human being would have died instantly if he had received such wounds. Thorin was still out cold, but in no danger of dying yet. Kate wouldn't put it past him to be just too stubborn to die either. He had his heart set on this quest and no one and nothing was going to stop him from achieving his goal.

And thinking of that she found it hard to believe that someone like him would ever succumb to the gold sickness. He just didn't seem the type. It would destroy everything he was now fighting for, would undo all of the good work he had ever done.

Could that be one of the things Gandalf wanted her to change? Kate supposed so, but there was no way to be certain. So far the wizard had not been sharing any of his motivations with any of them and it certainly was annoying some of them to no end, Thorin of course being one of them.

And she could only guess at what Gandalf wanted with her. They had established almost immediately that Kate was no fighter, which made her highly unsuitable to join the quest. And the fact remained that there were people who could fight and survive in the wild, and who also knew the book very well. Yet Gandalf had chosen her. And since this was not a fanfiction, Kate thought it highly unlikely that he had only brought her to this place to pair her up with some member of the company. The wizard was a scheming man, playing kingmaker and using other people to achieve his goals – which admittedly were noble even if he means were a little less so from time to time – but he was not a matchmaker. And thank goodness for that.

Her gaze wandered back to the wounded dwarf. No, none of his wounds would be fatal, but things might easily get rather nasty if said wounds would infect. And of course there was no telling where Óin was at this particular moment, but it would probably be a fair bet to say that he would not be able to pop in for a while.

'Charming,' Kate commented under her breath. She had some basic First Aid knowledge, even if it was a bit sketchy, and she had some supplies in her rucksack, but all in all she was not the healer material. And really, all she wanted to do was close her eyes and sleep until she was fully rested again. But she had agreed to be friends with this dwarf, even if that agreement had been made less than a day ago, and that was something friends never did.

'Bloody dwarf,' she growled. 'Making me lose sleep over him as well. Whatever bloody next?'

At least her resolve not to like him was crumbling for real now. Kate still wasn't sure if she really did like this man, because he could still be as grumpy and unsociable as he had ever been. But he had also made her receptive to seeing some of his more admirable qualities. That blasted loyalty of his was a good example of that. He had proven time and again that he would do anything to protect the people he believed himself to be responsible for. And yes, he did so by snapping and barking orders left, right and centre, but Kate found she could no longer fault him for that when he was doing it for all the right reasons. _Ugh, why does he have to be so bloody noble all of the time?_

But it was a useless question. Even if Thorin had been awake, she was convinced she could never bring herself to ask it. Ten to one she would get an answer along the lines of how he believed it to be nothing more than his duty anyway. It would be pointless to ask, yet she still found it hard to believe that all his actions were guided by some sense of duty. Could anyone really do all this for such a reason? But she could not really know, could she? Their worlds and societies were just too different.

She took out the First Aid kit and started cleaning the wounds on Thorin's face and neck, hoping that he would stay unconscious as long as she was busy. This was after all a bit of a compromising situation and Thorin getting the wrong impression was something she could really do without. It was bad enough with the elves, orcs and goblins already believing them married.

Most of the wounds were not too deep and fortunately easily cleaned. But the sleeves of his tunic were stained with blood and that might be where the real damage was. The advisor hesitated for a moment. 'You had better not wake up right now,' she warned him, before she took off the vambraces and pushed the fabric back so she could tend to the injuries there as well. Those wounds were deeper and looked a lot more serious and Thorin cringed away from her touch, even while he remained blessedly unconscious throughout the treatment.

'Really, someone ought to have told you not to pick fights with wolves,' Kate muttered as she worked. 'Or orcs for that matter. You're entirely too self-sacrificing for your own good.' She dressed the wounds and then let her eyes wander to his torso. If the movie was right then Azog's ugly pet would have tried to use Thorin for a chewing toy, which would mean he had wounds there as well, but taking off the rest of his armour was just a step too far for her, even if she had known how to do it. 'Óin can clear that up,' she decided. It was none of her concern.

She covered the king up with the blanket she had tied to the rucksack and then curled herself up under her own cloak. Sleep came easily now and Kate was out before the first rays of sunlight crept over the horizon.

**Thorin**

Thorin was disorientated when he finally regained consciousness, not in the last place because he had no idea where he was. The last thing he remembered was the burning battlefield on the mountainside. Kate had been there, calling Azog's warg a nice doggy, but things got hazy and blurry after then.

He strained his mind, trying to recall more details. There had been birds, eagles. Kate had told him they would come, but Thorin had been sceptical. He had not understood why eagles would come to their rescue and to be quite honest, when he had been in the middle of the fight he had all but forgotten about them until one had come and had ended the warg once and for all.

But what happened after then was unclear. He supposed he must have passed out, but there was no real telling what had occurred after that moment. Thorin supposed that he had been rescued in some way, because if the goblins or orcs had gotten their filthy hands on him, he doubted he would have been left so comfortable as he was now. Someone had even taken the time to cover him up with a blanket, he felt.

He cracked one eye open, finding himself staring at what appeared to be the fading light of day. The sky was painted in orange, red and purple, and the first stars had already come out. He had at least slept an entire day, if not longer and he sincerely hoped that that was not the case.

Thorin tried to push himself into a sitting position, regretting that action almost immediately as the pain, that had been blessedly dormant as long as he had been lying still, returned in full force. But he could handle that. He was the king and not some baby crying at the smallest injury. He could deal with this. But he could not quite escape the groan of pain that crossed his lips before he had the chance to bite it back.

He appeared to be in some kind of bird's nest, but an awfully big one, on a mountainside. That could only mean that his guess about the eagles taking them out of the battle had been right. They had even gone as far as to take them to their own homes, but there wasn't an eagle in sight right now and Thorin wondered where they had gone off to. Without their help it was unlikely that he would ever make it down to the ground again.

It appeared that someone had seen to his wounds while he was out. There were bandages on his arms and the wounds on his face, while stinging unpleasantly, appeared to have been taken care of as well. Some salve stuck to his fingers when he touched his face and there was a bandage wrapped around his head as well. That would be something he'd have to get rid of before he met up with the company again, because Thorin seriously doubted his companions would be able to hold back their laughter at that sight, no matter how much respect they had for him. Óin should have had more sense than to make him look that ridiculous.

But it had not been Óin who had fixed him up. There was no trace of his companions in this nest. There was however a mass of red messy curls almost hidden entirely under the warm grey cloak of the company advisor. The owner of said hair and cloak appeared to be asleep, having curled up under the garment entirely, which Thorin considered quite a feat. She must have been exhausted long before they got here and the dwarf king wondered why she had even taken the time to see to his wounds before she had gone to sleep herself. And he recognised the blanket he had been under as well. The thing had been tied to her backpack for the duration of the journey. It had come with her from her home in that other world and had remained with her ever since. The same thing could be said about the bag itself. Kate didn't go anywhere without it.

And true to expectations Thorin located it half a metre away from him, next to both their swords, his shield and some kind of box with a red cross painted on it. Ten to one that this box had come from the bag as well. Sometimes he did wonder how she managed to stuff all her belongings in that bag.

'You should not be up,' a sleepy voice commented.

That had Thorin turn around, finding a bleary-eyed Kate looking back at him. Her braid had come undone sometime during the fight and the already messy hair was now sticking in every direction. It was looking rather funny, although Thorin knew better than to comment on that. He did value his head and he had not gone to such troubles to keep Azog from separating it from the rest of his body only to have it ripped off by his new friend in a fit of temper.

'Did I wake you?' he inquired instead. He could not for the life of him figure out how, since he had been very quiet, but it was always possible, he imagined.

'It's fine,' Kate said dismissively, confirming it as well as a standard yes might have done. 'I'm awake now. And you should still be lying down. You're injured.'

As if he could forget about that. Thorin sent her a glare. 'And you are certain you are not related to Dori by blood?'

That earned him one of her disapproving glowers. This was promising. Hardly awake and already landing themselves into the next argument. It must be a record of some kind. 'Doesn't change the fact that you have been rather badly injured,' she insisted, ignoring his remark. 'Have you seen yourself recently? You look as if you've been on the wrong end of a butcher's knife.'

Thorin took her word for that. He had no ambition to see it for himself. As long as he had not seen it, he could pretend it wasn't there and he could act as normal. 'Where are the eagles?' he asked.

Kate stifled a yawn and sat up as well, wrapping the cloak around her tightly against the cool mountain's air. 'Out hunting goblins and orcs,' she replied. 'The one that took us here said something about "dealing with goblins making mischief" out there somewhere.' She snorted. 'Making mischief. Understatement of the century.'

Thorin chuckled, regretting that immediately when it caused a stinging pain in his chest. He tried to hide his reaction, but Mahal, was that woman observant when she put her mind to it.

'It still hurts?' she asked. 'I have not been able to look at it, but it didn't seem to be too serious anyway…' Her voice trailed off, a bit hesitant.

And it probably wasn't too serious. Nothing was broken – he hoped – and his armour had not been pierced by the warg's teeth, Mahal be praised. He did however feel as if he had been placed between hammer and anvil, but that was only to be expected after having been used as a warg's chewing toy.

'It is nothing of importance,' he told the advisor.

She raised her eyebrow in a quizzical manner, telling Thorin that she did not believe a single word of that speech, but she let it pass. Instead she crawled over to the backpack. 'I should have some supplies left. We could share them?' It came out as a question.

Thorin just gave her a curt nod. 'That would be acceptable.'

This had her laughing. 'Do you always get that formal when you're just awake?'

'Is that a problem?' he inquired, not quite sure what it was that she was even commenting on. In his opinion he had done nothing out of the ordinary.

Kate still chuckled as she retrieved some of her supplies, making Thorin wonder how she even fit all these things into this bag. 'That proves my point,' she remarked. 'And no, it's not a problem. It's just a thing that you're doing when you appear not to know what to say.' She shrugged. 'A friend can notice such things, right?'

He supposed so and so he nodded, accepting the food with a curt nod. It wasn't much and it certainly would not be enough to fill his stomach, but it would help. Kate had given herself a similar portion and was eating of it as if she had not seen food in days, which was not too far beside the truth.

'Where are the others?' he demanded of Kate when they had both finished eating. Thorin was not in a hurry to admit just how hungry he had been before then, but he had been. The food had forced other concerns from his mind for a while, but they were back in full force now that he had eaten and had gotten some rest. His wounds were stinging and itching, but that he could deal with.

'Other nests, I think.' She swallowed the last of her meal. 'The real events are deviating from the book at this point. Again, I might add. We're not supposed to remain separated for the others for this long.' A deep frown appeared on her forehead. 'But both book and movie agree that the eagles will all drop us off on some kind of rock at some point in time.' Kate seemed to have resigned herself to that already.

Thorin however had not. They had wasted more than enough time already and he wanted to get moving again. 'And you are content with waiting here?' he demanded, feeling his temper rising.

'Well, unless you've got a better idea!' she countered. 'You're perfectly welcome to go and climb down all by yourself. Just don't come running to me when you fall and break your neck.' For a moment she very much reminded the dwarf of a certain wizard he knew well.

There was some logic in her reasoning, much as Thorin hated to admit it. Even in normal conditions it would be foolish to climb down on his own from the high place they were in, but in his current condition it would be suicide. Dwarves had strong bones and thick skulls – as Kate never grew tired of saying – but they weren't thick enough to survive a fall on the rocks below and Thorin didn't feel the need to try and find out for himself. There was however no reason why he should tell the advisor that she was right. She would only favour him with that smug expression she tended to have whenever she was proven right about something and Thorin was quite sure he could not handle that at the moment. Friends they might be, but it was still early days. And he wondered if they would ever stop fighting anyway. It seemed to be a defining thing for them.

Kate had turned her back towards him and was now going through her belongings, digging up a comb with which she practically attacked her hair, a clear sign that she was mad about Thorin questioning her actions again. For a woman who kept insisting that others' opinions did not matter to her, she reacted rather hurt when someone verbally attacked her or even as much as questioned her actions. Women could be impossible to deal with from time to time. Thorin could testify to that himself, having had to deal with a younger sister who had as much of a temper as the company advisor when she was younger.

If his experience with Dís was anything to go on, then he should do something to make it up to Kate before she would talk to him again. A few days ago he would not have bothered to go to the trouble, but they had agreed to be friends now and the fact remained that Kate had defended him during the fight and had tended to his wounds before they had the chance to infect. Thorin owed her, much as he detested the thought of being in anyone's debt.

'Give that to me,' he ordered, taking the comb out of the advisor's hands before she had the chance to give it to him, which Thorin suspected she would never ever have done of her own volition.

He was proven right. 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' Kate tried to turn around, but Thorin's hands held her in place and her struggle was useless.

'Making sure you do not pull all your hair out,' he retorted.

Kate growled in frustration, but gave up on her fighting when she realised it wasn't doing her any good. 'You're so bloody bossy!' she complained. 'I am perfectly capable of brushing my own hair, you know!' She seemed more uncomfortable now than really angry, if the way she kept shifting and moving was any indication, although Thorin could not for the life of him figure out what made her this jumpy. This had always the way to make amends to Dís and she had never been this nervous. Something about this must mean something else in that wretched world Kate was coming from.

'Is this in any way inappropriate to you?' he asked.

He couldn't see her face now, but he could hear the frustrated sigh. 'Not inappropriate. Just…' She seemed to be looking for the right word. 'Unusual,' she decided in the end.

'Your brother never did this for you?' If anything, this confirmed what Thorin already thought about Kate's brother. He didn't seem to be standing up for his sister or helping her in any way from what he had heard. Thorin failed to see why she was so attached to him in spite of that.

But she did not seem saddened by his question, quite the opposite. The advisor let out a bark of laughter. 'Jacko? Combing my hair? _Please_!' The entire notion seemed ridiculous to her. 'He wouldn't know one end of the comb from the other. I very much doubt he even knows what it is.' She thought for a moment. 'But I am guessing that in your culture this is normal?'

'Among family and friends, it is,' Thorin confirmed. And they had agreed to be friends, so he was perfectly well allowed to do this, although he would readily admit – if only to himself and not to anyone else – that he might better have picked another way to make it up to her. But then, he could not have known about her dislike of this treatment, could he?

Kate sighed. 'Different worlds, different customs, I suppose.' She relaxed a little. 'But if you start pulling my hair out, I'll make meeting Azog look like a walk in the park to you.'

Thorin suppressed the urge to chuckle. That notion was as ridiculous as the notion of her making him sing soprano for the rest of his life, but he suspected this was just her way of giving in without making it appear like giving in. Nevertheless, he had vexed her quite enough for one day and he could do without another argument, so he was as careful as he could be.

'You know, you really should not be doing this,' Kate commented after a lengthy silence. 'You're still injured.'

Thorin bit back a snappy reply along the lines how he knew how to deal with injuries like that. He wasn't some kind of fragile human who winced at the smallest wound. He was a dwarf and a king. It wasn't in his nature to show weakness, especially not when the injuries were not as serious as Kate seemed to believe. The fact that his muscles still ached with every movement and that his breathing wasn't as easy as normal either he conveniently ignored. That would heal in time.

'I am perfectly capable of brushing your hair, Miss Andrews.' The words still came out a little harsher than he had intended them.

'Kate,' she instantly corrected. 'And fine, have it your way. You're the leader after all. You are used to getting what you want.' The tone was a little mocking. 'I really think you should start telling that to Azog. It must have passed him by somehow.'

Some people would have bitten her head off for making fun of the situation like that, but Thorin suspected that this was some peace offering from her side, even if it was hard to tell for sure. He put the comb aside and started braiding her hair back into place. His hands were used to the task and it didn't require any thinking at all. He took some liberties though and he didn't do it quite in the fashion she had worn so far, instead opting on a more dwarvish style. After all, she had been adopted by Dori and his brothers. In a way she belonged to them now, even if she was not quite aware of that herself. But he would gladly leave it to her new siblings to explain that to her. Thorin predicted more violent outbursts when eventually someone would explain and he had decided he had no ambition to be on the receiving end of Kate's temper again.

Kate wasn't completely oblivious to what he was doing though. 'One simple braid would have sufficed, you know.' She sounded a little irritable. 'It's only hair, not a work of art. Even if someone really should tell that to Dori and Nori some time.'

One corner of Thorin's mouth curled up. Even for dwarves their hairstyles were rather elaborate. 'It makes you fit well within that family then,' he commented. This once again reminded him of the banter they had kept up in Rivendell and several other times when there had not been a crisis. It was almost too easy to do this. One moment they'd be fighting and the next they'd be teasing and it confused Thorin as much as her. And at the same time it seemed like something that was entirely natural, even if neither of them seemed to understand why they were doing it.

'Ha!' Kate let out a bark of laughter. 'I should hope not. I could do without the braids-all-over-the-place-look Dori keeps up, or the hair-sticking-out-in-every-direction-style Nori has.'

'It would not suit you,' Thorin agreed. They were silent for a while again. 'What says your book that will happen next?' It was hardly a conscious choice to ask this question out loud. It sprang from the desire to know he had experienced while holed up in that tree, a desire to know what she knew, to use that knowledge to help the quest along. He could not fathom what had changed his mind, but he at least strongly suspected that it had something to do with the idea that knowledge had indeed the power to change, not only to predict. It had gradually taken root and it had been fed by the frustration of not being able to do anything while the company was in danger.

He had been tying up the end of the braid with the leather strip he had thrown at her that morning in Bag End, but the hair was almost yanked out of his hands when Kate swivelled her head around. 'Are you telling me that you want to know what is in the book?' There was disbelief in both her voice and eyes.

Even when Thorin knew that she had a good reason to react like this – because he had not been approving of her presence and the book she carried with her in the past few months – it still vexed him. It was almost as if Kate didn't believe him capable of changing his views when the situation asked for it. He felt his face twist in an angry scowl before he had even given himself permission to do so. 'You question my words?' he demanded. Thorin met her eyes, finding that Kate did not avert them. She was one of the few he knew that did not seem to be bothered at all by the king's most disapproving stare. She met it with a determined look of her own. There was a spark there, telling the dwarf that she was not backing down.

'I think Azog has hit you on the head too hard,' the advisor countered. 'Because I cannot honestly come up with any other reason why you would suddenly be interested in my book.' In Kate's own strange way this was almost diplomatic. She wasn't outright doubting his actions – because that would have annoyed Thorin – so instead she tried to deflect it with a quip.

Thorin sent her an icy stare that told her that he did not believe this to be some kind of joke.

She sighed. 'Why don't you just read the bloody book if you want to know?' she exclaimed. 'I'm not some walking encyclopaedia. You can read yourself, can't you?'

Her mouth seemed to have been faster than her brain again, for when their eyes met again, she seemed as shocked as Thorin himself. For a long while neither of them spoke. Thorin tried to keep his face as blank and stern as possible and he thought he succeeded. The inside was another matter entirely. There was some small part of him that still shied away from this. The larger part of him had already accepted the fact that Kate's knowledge could be useful, but reading it for himself was something else altogether. And he had never believed that there would be any need for him to do so. Kate had been brought here to advise him.

But there had also been that desire to know, to see and understand it himself. Thorin was the kind of person who wanted to do things himself. He hated to rely on anyone for anything. And maybe it was that attitude that eventually made him rise to the challenge. 'Very well,' he told the advisor. 'We will do this your way.'

* * *

From Thorin's notes: _What in Durin's name have I just agreed to?_

* * *

**Yes, there's progress here. I hope you liked this latest development. Next time they will be reunited with the rest of the company. I swear this story is getting away from me. I had never planned for them to spend an entire chapter in an eagle's nest, but there you have it.**

**And once again a huge thank you for the guest reviews. They are **_**really**_** appreciated. Although, **_**kaia**_**, I would like to add that while I appreciate that you take the time to review and point out what you didn't like, I would ask you to do so a little more polite in future. We're all entitled to our opinions and I asked for it, but your last review was bordering on rude and I don't think there is any need for that.**

**Anyways, I hope you all liked this chapter and as always, I love to hear your thoughts about it. Till Sunday!**


	27. Chapter 27 What If

**Chapter 27**

**What If**

_I felt awfully clever and cunning after I had gotten Thorin to read the book. My mind was already racing ahead, thinking of the possibilities that this created. Thorin would read the book and know everything I knew myself. The time period that was covered in the first movie had all but ended and since the following two had not yet been released, there was no relevant material left that only I had access to. We would only have the book to go on from now on and really anyone who could read had access to the story._

_And with only the book left, my usefulness would be greatly reduced and that was something I did not have a problem with at all. It provided me with the perfect excuse to ask Gandalf again to send me back. I told myself that I only wanted this so badly because I didn't want my family and friends to worry about me any longer. If however I was really honest, I would have to admit that I was only so anxious to leave because I feared to strengthen the emotional ties to the company that had already been formed._

_Looking back on it now, knowing what I know now, it seems ridiculous, pathetic even to be so frightened of strengthening those ties. But back then, when I was still hoping that Gandalf would indeed send me home, getting closer to the members of the company scared me almost more than Azog had done. Maybe it was my own foolish way of trying to protect myself from heartbreak that would doubtlessly occur when I had returned home. Keeping my distance from them was safe. _

_But it was also futile, because despite my best attempts to stay away from the dwarves and hobbit, they had wriggled their way into my heart and life. The Ri brothers had even as good as adopted me. It was not that I had consented to such an action, but that seemed to be only a minor detail to them. According to them, according to their customs, I was family now, a real member of the company._

_And even I could not keep on lying to myself when the eagles finally returned, having dealt with the goblins and orcs – although Azog had escaped them, to both Thorin's and my great disappointment – and brought us to what they called the Great Shelf where we were reunited with the others. And no matter what I wanted to feel, it felt like coming home seeing them again…_

**Kate**

It was good to have the entire company together again, Kate reflected as she sat down at the campfire Bofur and Dwalin had made. No matter what her feelings on the subject otherwise might be, she could hardly deny that it felt like a get-together of old friends that had not seen each other for years instead of only a day.

It was a relief to find that everyone had come out of the fight with nothing more than scratches, save for Thorin of course and Dwalin, who was sporting a large cut on the right side of his face. The warrior pretended that the wound did not exist and carried on as if nothing was wrong. Óin in turn had pretended not to hear Dwalin's protests – come to think of it, he may not have heard them at all – and he had treated the injury anyway. The rest of them had come away with scratches and minor burns, but Gandalf – and Kate tried and failed to control her laughter here – was missing a large piece of his beard, courtesy of a burning pine-cone he had accidentally held too close to his face.

Darkness had fallen some time ago, but everyone had slept through the day, like she herself had, and the dwarves were happy, loud and cheerful. Bilbo seemed a bit more shaken, but even he managed to conjure up smiles and seemed to bask in the mood of general cheerfulness, even if he didn't contribute too much to it.

The eagles had been very generous hosts to them, going out to catch some meat for the company that they could roast over the fire. This immediately put them a lot higher on the list of favourite hosts, far above the elves, who of course had only provided them with green food.

'Kate, catch!' Kíli shouted at her, throwing what appeared to be half the sheep at her.

It was more of a reflex than a well thought out action that allowed the advisor to catch the piece of meat before it hit her square in the face. That would have made for a very embarrassing show, one the dwarves would no doubt have enormously enjoyed. 'Oi!' she shouted back at him. 'Do you really think I'm going to eat all of this?' She sincerely hoped not anyway.

The archer shrugged. 'Why not?' He gave her a once over. 'You're all skin and bones. There was even more meat on that sheep than there is on you and Mahal knows there was not much on the poor beast either.' The rest of the company burst out into laughter, leaving Kate to stare at them in disapproval.

'There's nothing wrong with my figure, thank you very much!' she said indignantly. 'We can't all be as muscled as you are.'

Kíli studied her again. 'Yes, but being that skinny can't be healthy,' he insisted. 'Surely there should be more fat on you? You look like any breeze could just blow you away.'

'That's just the way I'm built, buffoon!' Kate snapped. All this commentary on her physical appearance was seriously starting to bother her now. It had been annoying enough with Glóin doing it. Did the rest of them really have to join in? 'It's normal for a human. And that's what I am, just in case it has somehow escaped your notice.'

'We'd never be able to tell from those braids of yours, though,' Bofur chimed in. There was a grin on his face that Kate did not trust at all. It made her feel as if she was missing the joke somehow and that was not a very pleasant feeling. Had she somehow been at fault allowing Thorin to fix her hair? She might well have been. There was so much that she did not know about this dwarf culture. Ori had been teaching her some things, but he could not have covered every aspect what with the limited time they'd had.

'Something wrong with them I should have been aware of?' she demanded sharply, a little sharper than she had intended perhaps, but that was the natural result of having one too many of these experiences. For all she knew this could be interpreted as some kind of token of affection as well, just as the coat had been, even if that had been meant as practical and not as anything else. And already half the company seemed to think Thorin and Kate were romantically involved. She could really do without the other half of them thinking it as well.

But Thorin had said that there was not much to this. If he were to be believed, friends and family did it all the time. Well, and they had agreed on being friends, so there was nothing the matter with this.

Just a second later she realised that not yet everyone was aware of this newfound friendship though. The wargs had run them down, chased them up in the trees and landed them in the fight they had only so narrowly escaped from before they'd had the time to do that. And informing the rest of the company of the changed circumstances then had not been exactly high on either of their lists of priorities.

'It's a normal thing to be doing among friends, is it not?' she asked pointedly.

That got a few dwarves to stare at both Thorin and her with a look on their face as if the pair of them had just grown second heads. Really, it should not have been that much of a surprise, should it, considering that everyone here thought that they were a hell of a lot more than friends? Dwarves! There was just no pleasing them sometimes, was there?

'And you can stop looking that sheepish!' she snapped, feeling rather embarrassed by all this attention that she was suddenly getting. 'They are only braids and it was practical.' _And why on earth are you even defending yourself? It's not like you committed a crime and the more you protest now, the more they will believe that there is indeed something going on. Get a grip, girl. You're not some blushing teenage girl anymore._

She shrugged as if she could not care less, ignoring the muttered comments that she could not quite make out, and focused her attention on the sheep that Kíli obviously still expected her to eat in its entirety. Maybe she could subtly slip some of her portion onto Bombur's plate. She doubted he'd mind. To be quite honest she doubted he'd even notice, come to think of it.

'It's good, Bombur,' she complimented the fat dwarf, who was sitting left of her. Next to him she must really look like a skinny little thing. Maybe she should have sat herself down next to Bilbo or Gandalf.

Bombur's face lit up as if she had just paid him the warmest of compliments. The dwarf did not have a nasty bone in his body and especially his cooking skills were appreciated by the entire company. 'Not a problem, lass. Eat as much as you'd like.'

'And I'll just leave the rest to you,' she whispered conspiratorially. 'There's just no way I can eat all of this.'

Fortunately he seemed to understand, nodding and smiling. 'I won't tell a soul,' he promised in that same hushed tone.

'I knew I could count on you.' She found herself appreciating the red-headed dwarf all the more for that. She hadn't had much contact with him thus far, but he had been one of the dwarves that had always treated her with kindness, almost right from the start. And she owed him for that. Because even though she liked the others well enough now, they had taken some time in convincing that Kate Andrews was not a complete waste of space.

The attention of the others had fortunately been diverted by Dori, who had launched into his version of the events that had taken place at the glade. His tone was a little louder than strictly necessary and Kate strongly suspected him of deliberately drawing the attention away from her. He had interfered the previous day as well when he had noticed she was uncomfortable. She would really miss that older brother type when she returned home. There was just no helping it, as much as she hated that thought.

But now was not really the time to be sad. It was hard anyway to be anything but cheerful and happy when surrounded by all these happy persons. Maybe she could just leave her worries till the morning and just enjoy the celebrations – for that was what they were – while they lasted. For just this once she could allow herself to be part of the group, could she not? It would be a memory to take back home with her once she left.

'You didn't do half-bad in the fight, lass,' a voice suddenly commented when Kate was just dumping what was left of her sheep on Bombur's plate. It almost felt like she was committing a crime now – and Kíli would certainly treat it as one should he catch her in the act – and therefore she felt startled more than usual when she heard someone talk to her. It was however only Dwalin that had addressed her, looking at her with what appeared to be genuine amusement.

'Dwalin,' she acknowledged coolly. She had not yet forgotten how unkind he had been to her at the goblin's front gate and later near the back door as well. 'What is it you want?' Kate was fully aware that this was rude, but she could not bring herself to care. He had not exactly been polite towards her either.

If the warrior had noticed the tone at all, he did not show it. He seated himself down next to her right on the spot Bofur had just vacated. Where he had gone off to, Kate did not know, but she passionately wished he would have waited another few minutes. 'You did remarkably well in the fight,' Dwalin repeated. 'And you took great personal risk to save Thorin when I could not. I may not like you or the reason you are here, but I'm in your debt.' He gave her a pointed look. 'I will no longer bother you as I did before.'

Kate's eyebrows were already halfway her forehead before the full meaning of his words registered in her mind. This was about her "rescuing" Thorin. She had already known that Dwalin was loyal to his king before anything else, but it would seem she had underestimated what the consequences of that loyalty were. She now doubted his dislike of her had anything to do with her personally, but more with the book and knowledge he considered a danger to king and quest.

She forced herself to nod. 'Apology accepted.' Because that was what this was, even if it had not been said with that many words. Being a journalist required that one could read between lines and Kate had become quite skilled at that art. 'I should not have snapped as you as I did either.'

It was a truce of some kind, Kate figured: fragile, unspoken and quite possibly easily shattered if she did or said something Dwalin considered a danger to Thorin. But for now it was there and it gave her some breathing space. And if everything went according to plan, she would be out of this world and back in her own within days anyway. At least they would not part as enemies. That had to count for something.

Dwalin merely nodded, the issue he had wanted to discuss out of the way now. To be quite honest, Kate had no idea how to proceed. She had no idea if she even should proceed at all. Maybe Dwalin would just prefer to be left alone – not such a strange notion – but ignoring him felt rude and awkward. Ugh, she had never been that good at this whole making up and bonding thing at all.

There was however one topic that should not be a problem. 'I was wondering about how often I should sharpen my sword,' she ventured, hoping that this was not some kind of big mistake to make. For all she knew he didn't want her to talk to him at all.

But fortunately Dwalin seemed to recognise the olive branch when it was offered to him. He half turned and took the sword without question, studying it. 'It's an elvish blade, lass,' he told her.

Kate bit her lip. 'Am I supposed to know what this means?'

Bofur, who had just returned and now squeezed himself between them, shot her a quizzical look. 'Are there no elvish blades where you come from?'

'There are no elves at all, never mind their blades,' Kate replied. It would probably not do to inform them that her world lacked a lot of things that were commonplace here. They could never understand without seeing it for themselves and Kate was not in a hurry to keep explaining things to them anyway.

'Sounds like heaven,' Kíli commented.

The advisor seriously doubted that, since there were no dwarves around there either and that piece of knowledge was bound to dampen the archer's spirit, but she refrained from commenting. Instead she opted on returning her attention to the blade. 'So, what does it mean, that this is an elvish blade?'

'Won't need sharpening much,' Dwalin replied, handing the weapon back to her. He spoke those words as if he was very displeased with that.

'Well, that's… good,' she said, not entirely sure that this was the right thing to say.

Fortunately Balin chose that moment to join the conversation. He leaned in front of his brother and beckoned at the sword. 'You should name it,' he told her.

Kate felt her forehead wrinkle in confusion. 'It's a companion sword to Orcrist, right?' That was some piece of knowledge she could really have done without, since it always seemed to confirm what some people were already thinking. 'So it's positively antique. Don't you think it already has a name?'

Balin shrugged, wholly unconcerned. 'If it has, then we have no way of learning it.'

'Blades do get renamed sometimes,' Ori chimed in. If anyone could make that claim with unquestioned authority, it would be the company's scribe. He had told her not that long ago that he had some interest in famous weapons and their histories, even if he would probably never be able to wield arms quite that well himself.

'If you say so,' she said, frowning at the blade. Really, she was not even sure she wanted this sword to have a name. What did it need one for anyway? But well, it seemed to be custom around here to name the sodding things. _When in Rome, do as the Romans_.

The thing was that she had no clue as to what to call this thing. Most of the blades seemed to have elvish names, but she didn't speak any elvish at all. A dwarvish name for an elvish sword seemed like blasphemy and her Khuzdul wasn't that good anyway. And somehow she doubted her companions would approve of her naming the blade something along the lines of "bread knife." Her vocabulary wasn't too extended yet and she could do without making a complete fool out of herself.

But a sword as ancient as this did deserve some kind of heroic name and so she turned towards her knowledge about sword names from her own world. There wasn't much that came up. Kate had liked all kinds of heroic tales, but the names of the swords had never made a permanent impression on her. There really was only one name that she had actually remembered.

She stared at the blade again. 'Hm, how about Excalibur?' she asked of on no one in particular. It was the name of a famous blade, a worthy name for a sword this old, she supposed. Who cared that she had not pulled it free from some lump of rock? Her companions didn't know that.

There were some appreciating noises being made all around the fire. 'Impressive,' Fíli commented.

Thorin, next to him, was nodding as well, even as he had his eyes narrowed somewhat, like he was suspecting her of ulterior motives. Or maybe he was still looking a bit cross-eyed from his unfortunate run-in with the rocks of the battlefield. Kate allowed herself to think that was what it was. 'How did you come by that name?' he demanded.

Kate shrugged again. 'It's the name of a sword from a famous legend of my world,' she clarified. _And it was the only name my brain could possibly come up with_. But there was no need to burden her companions with that piece of information. 'I could tell you the story some time.'

That had Bofur's face split into some massive grin. 'We'd like a story, don't we, lads? It's been far too long since you read to us, Kate. Did that Narnia book of yours make it through Goblin-town?'

Thorin grumbled something along the lines of how that bag of her would even make it through a dragon's fire, but she could have been mistaken, since he had not spoken that loud. At any rate she gave him a stern glance for good measure. He may be injured, but he would not drop dead all of a sudden because of a glower.

'It did,' she replied. She didn't feel like reading a lot, but she could humour them for once. Soon enough she would be gone and they'd have to make do without it. She could leave them the book though, if they'd like. Kate could always buy herself a new copy at home and her current companions seemed to enjoy the tale. 'My bag's over there.' She pointed at a point next to Glóin. 'Toss it over, will you?'

Glóin did as she asked and threw the rucksack at her with more force than Kate deemed necessary, since it hit her right in the stomach, making her want to throw up all the meat she had just eaten. 'Charming,' she commented, sending a stern look in the dwarf's direction, who at least had the decency to look a little ashamed. 'Where were we again?' she wondered as she opened the book.

'We've only read three chapters so far,' Ori spoke up. Book loving dwarf that he was, it should not have been a surprise to anyone that he had been the one to remember that even with all the things that had happened since they had last done this.

'Chapter four it is then.' She flipped to the right page and started reading as the group quietened around her. It still felt strange to be doing this, sharing something that so clearly originated in her world, sharing it with a bunch of dwarves from another world, who didn't know the first thing about where she had come from.

She would miss this, she knew. Part of her didn't really want to say goodbye already either. Some of these guys had become friends, family. And that was probably the exact reason why she needed to get away from them as soon as she possibly could. The longer she stayed, the stronger the ties that bound her to Middle Earth became. And she had never been meant to remain here. There were people waiting for her at home, people who by now would be fearing her dead. It had been months since her disappearance. They must be expecting the worst by now. It made Kate feel guilty over sitting here, actually enjoying herself, while she knew her family to be worried sick. No, she could not leave them worrying any longer than necessary. And Thorin had agreed to read the book, which meant that Kate would no longer be needed. She could go home and get on with her life. And her family would no longer need to fear for her safety. _That has to be something Gandalf has never as much as thought about_, she thought venomously. _The impact this would have on my life and the lives of my loved ones. All he cares about is the fate of his precious Middle Earth._

There were very few interruptions this time and Kate was grateful for it. She read on, hardly thinking about what it was that she was reading, until the poem jumped off the page, staring at her, confronting her.

'_Make your choice, adventurous Stranger;_

_Strike the bell and bide the danger,_

_Or wonder, till it drives you mad,_

_What would have followed if you had.'_

Of course, this was just a piece of poetry in a story, not at all directed at her. And yet. And yet it was also a question Kate had not even been asking herself until now. She had always been thinking about the need to get back home again, worrying for all kinds of things that she could not do anything about at all at that moment in time. She had never fully embraced the idea of being on this quest with the dwarves, despite the fact that she had signed the contract.

But then, she had not wanted to embrace that idea. Her focus had been on getting home as soon as she possibly could. That had been her aim all along and the dwarves' quest was just a means to an end to her. Gandalf had made it quite clear: she would tag along and be an advisor and then he would send her home as soon as the job was done. And so she had tagged along.

And she had not really been _with_ them until recently, she supposed. She had been an outsider; unwelcome and of little use, only there because the wizard insisted on it and it was easier to give him what he wanted than trying to argue with him – not that they had not tried. But now she had been more or less adopted – and it was probably more than less – and she had been accepted into the group.

And now this poem made her think what would happen if she chose to stay until the quest was finished. The question kept going round and round in her head until long after she had stopped reading and her companions had gone to sleep beside the dying fire. She had already established that parting from these dwarves was going to be difficult, no matter how long or short she stayed, and her family would worry about her anyway, whether she returned home tomorrow or in a few months. And she could do with a little more time to think of what she was going to tell them about her whereabouts the previous months, because that was one detail that she had not yet worked out entirely. And the truth might just not be the best option in this case, not if she did not want to get locked away in a mental asylum for the rest of her life.

_What the hell do you think you're doing?_ common sense demanded. _Your family's worried sick about you and you are even seriously considering staying here, having fun? Are you totally insane?_

And that little annoying voice was right. Kate didn't often listen to common sense, but in this case she really had to. It was downright shameful that she had even thought about this. She had to go back and that was why she violently slapped down every notion of what if, banished the sodding poem to the very back of her mind and firmly decided to sort this mess out as soon as she could.

**Thorin**

Thorin could not for the life of him figure out why the poem in the story had made such a lasting impression on him. It was just a silly little piece challenging the main characters in the story to strike the bell, even if everyone with a brain knew it would be far wiser not to do so. He had scoffed at the boy's stupidity when Kate had read it.

There was just something he could not quite put his finger on and it bothered him. Thorin was used to being on top of things, to be in control of the situation. So far that part had not really worked out at all. Things constantly seemed to be going from bad to worse, leaving the king frustrated and irritable.

_Or wonder, till it drives you mad, what would have followed if you had_. It was the endless list of _what if_s that was the point now, Thorin suspected. _What would have happened if I had never gone on this quest, what would have happened if I'd listened to Kate sooner, what would have happened if I… _This list really was infinite and he blamed the book for making him doubt his own actions again.

He leaned back and folded his hands under his head, looking at the stars above him. He had slept long enough this day. Sleep would not grace him with its presence this night. And his thoughts were too restless to find any rest now anyway. He should have slapped down the notion of the advisor reading from the book again, even if its contents indeed appeared to be harmless enough. He was just reading too much into this poem. It had not even been meant in this way and he should not think that it was. And he was quite sure that Kate had not even been aware of the inner turmoil it had created.

But there had been something with her there as well. Something, the smallest flash of some undefined emotion, the barest hint of a tremor in her voice as she read those four lines, had occurred. Had Thorin not accidentally been looking in her direction already, he would have missed out on it entirely. But he had seen it and he could not help but wonder about it. Really, it was none of his business, but for now it was better to wonder about why this meant something to the advisor than to dwell on what this meant to Thorin himself.

Because it did mean something to his new friend and as a friend he was allowed to wonder about her. Moreover, she was a member of his company now, and a woman at that. Her wellbeing was his responsibility. Had Balin reacted in such a fashion, he would have asked what the matter was. Now that would not be such a good idea with the advisor, since she was more likely to bite Thorin's head off than to give a satisfactory reply.

It was just that Thorin could not for the life of him figure what a woman such as Kate would have to regret. Her life was relatively simple, apart from the fact that she had been torn away from her home without warning. What would haunt her mind? There were no decisions of so much importance that could worry her. The woman had no idea how blessed she was in that respect.

The advisor was still up as well, standing at the very edge of the place the eagles called the Great Shelf, her cloak wrapped tightly around her, staring off into the distance. Balin's casual remark that they had a lot in common sprang to mind. Thorin himself tended to do this when he wanted to think. For some reason his friend's comment didn't sit well with him. He knew the other members of the company were already speculating about a non-existent relationship and Thorin had let them, apart from the occasional stern glance when he caught them in the act.

But that Balin had also joined in the speculating about things that did not exist and, worse, did not seem to be thinking this an alarming development at all, rather something to be encouraged, that disappointed Thorin. He had hoped that at least his lifelong friend would know better.

But apparently not. In this respect it would seem that only Kate and Thorin themselves – with the possible addition of the wizard – were in the possession of some common sense. It seemed to have abandoned the others.

Those three were also the only ones to still be awake. Gandalf had seated himself some distance away, accompanied by his pipe. No surprise there. Thorin sometimes wondered if the wizard even slept at all. If that was the case, he had never been witness to it. For as long as the dwarf king had known Gandalf, he had always been awake and alert, always two steps ahead of the rest of them, and always in the good company of his smokescreen just in case someone asked him a question he did not want to answer, Thorin added wryly to himself.

His attention was drawn back to the advisor when she turned around and made her way to said wizard with long determined strides. Thorin had come to recognise that particular way of walking as a clear sign that she was on the warpath, or that she was at least expecting a rather unpleasant confrontation. That was not entirely unexpected, especially where Gandalf was concerned. And after the ordeal they had been through, it was only logical that she had some bone to pick with him. Thorin had been waiting for the moment he could do that himself as well.

'We need to talk,' Kate announced when she had reached Gandalf. The tone made it clear that this was not up for discussion. She remained standing too, quite possibly to be taller than the one she was talking to. When standing Gandalf towered over every member of this company, but at least for now he had to look up to the advisor. It was not a bad move, Thorin had to admit.

'What about, dear girl?' Gandalf inquired pleasantly. He was still merrily smoking the night away. If he was expecting a confrontation, then he wasn't showing it.

'About sending me back home early.' The words came out quickly and she had her arms wrapped around herself, as if she was bracing herself for the worst.

It was very silent for what felt like a very long time. Thorin realised he had stopped breathing for a while even, although he could not for the life of him figure why. After all, it was only to be expected that Kate would want to get back home again, especially after what had happened on that burned battlefield. She had never wanted to come with them in the first place.

But he felt anger and disappointment all the same. They had agreed to be friends not two days ago. He had seriously believed that even if she was not here of her own volition, she would at least stand by them from now on, at least until the end of the quest. In a strange way Thorin felt like she had let him down. He had trusted her and she had let him down. The bile rose in his throat and it took him all he had to remain in place and listen as the conversation unfolded.

Because this made him see something else see in a different light as well. When she had asked him to read the book for himself, he had believed that from now on they would act more like allies, more like leader and advisor than they had been doing so far, no doubt exactly how Gandalf, scheming man that he was, had intended it in the first place. Now he saw her question for what it really was: a clever scheme that would allow her to return to her own world.

'I am not sure that is in your contract,' Gandalf replied. He was still very calm.

'Forget the bloody contract for a moment,' Kate snapped. 'This isn't about that. Listen, I convinced Thorin to read the book for himself. He will know everything that I know as well and then the company will have no further use for me. They never really had anyway.'

It was silent for a while again and the dwarf could feel his fists clench and unclench in anger. So he had been right. This really had been her plan all along. How could she? Not to him, that was not the matter really. But how could she do this to her brothers? They had only just adopted her and she really thought she could run away and leave them? Had she no sense of loyalty at all? Was she really that selfish?

'That is not what I brought you here for,' the wizard said. He was pointedly avoiding Kate's gaze, looking at some point in the distance.

Well, at least that took both Thorin and Kate by surprise. 'You didn't?' The advisor's tone was instantly wary. 'Then was all that talk about me being an advisor just a load of waffle?'

'Dear girl, being an advisor is why you were brought here.' Thorin would almost say that Gandalf enjoyed being so cryptic. Would it kill him to just give a straight answer just for once in his no doubt very long life?

'Feel free to start making sense any time now.' The way Kate spoke suggested that at the moment she would like nothing better than to throw the old man down the mountainside, a feeling Thorin recognised all too well. He had lost count of how many times he had felt like that. 'Thorin will have access to the knowledge from the book, which was what you wanted in the first place. He is literate, you know. He can read the book himself and act on it. He doesn't need me to read it to him.'

'Dear, advisors cannot just run away whenever it suits them.' Gandalf remained perfectly relaxed, studying his pipe with a devotion not often seen. 'They advise the leaders what to do with the knowledge that is at their disposal.'

Kate growled. 'So, we're looking at the moral side of things now, are we? Well, then here's another: where I come from it isn't customary for future employers to abduct their employees from the streets, without giving them as much of a moment to say goodbye to their loved ones.'

'I…' Gandalf tried to interrupt.

But Kate had worked herself up into a full fit of temper and she did not give him the chance to speak. 'No, _I_ am doing the talking now.' This was more of an order than anything else. 'My family is out there, waiting for any word that I might still be alive. They might even believe I am dead already! You just snatched me off the street, no witnesses, nothing! I have just vanished from that world! Just try to use your brain for once – if it's not too addled by all that smoking you're doing – and try to look at this with my perspective for a change!'

'I am well aware…' Gandalf tried again.

'I seriously doubt that,' Kate snapped dismissively. 'Because if you were, you would probably have thought twice about acting the way you did. Has it even crossed your mind that I could very well die on this bloody quest? I would never be able to return home. My family would never even know what had become of me!'

That struck a chord, obviously not with Gandalf, but it did with Thorin. He didn't really want to let it, but it did all the same. Because if there was one thing that he could understand – probably better than anyone else in the world – then it was loyalty to one's family. For as long as he'd known Kate, he had never really realised what impact her being in Middle Earth would have on her family. He had been more concerned with the impact her presence had on his company and his quest.

The anger subsided somewhat. It was hard to remain mad when her motives for acting in such a fashion were so noble. He recalled the strange painting he had picked up from the ground in Rivendell, the one that showed Kate with her mother and brother. They had been happy, looking like they had belonged with one another. Gandalf had torn Kate away from those people and if they indeed cared for the advisor, then they would be worried for her, especially after so long a time.

Had any other of the company come to him with these motives then he would have been understanding, he knew. He'd have told them that family should always come first and that they should go right away to take care of them.

But this was a different case. Kate was someone they _needed_ on this quest, so he had come to accept, even if he had not been accepting easily or even willingly. Her leaving was not something they could afford. The others were blessedly unaware of the change she just might be able to bring about, but Thorin was not. And as frightening as it was, it was a real possibility. And he would take any opportunity to keep his company safe. That was a vow he had taken long ago. Kate might be an unconventional way, but it was a way all the same.

And it was an impossible situation, because there were two equally important matters warring for dominance here: Kate's importance to the quest – something which Gandalf would probably rejoice about when he learned that Thorin had finally admitted to that – and Kate's importance where she came from. Both were important and it was not easy to determine which one was more so.

But it was not within his power to grant her wish, even if he wanted to grant it. Thorin could release her, tear up her contract and tell her to go home, but in the end he did not have the power to send her back there. That was Gandalf's prerogative and his alone. And he was glad that this decision was not his to make. Let Gandalf deal with the mess he had created. It had been his decision to involve Kate in the first place. Now it would be his problem to deal with as well. It was only fair.

'These dwarves are quite capable of keeping you in one piece until the quest is done.' The wizard's face was obscured behind his smokescreen again. 'I can guarantee you that I will send you back once this is all over.'

Kate didn't smoke, but Thorin could still almost see the steam come out of her ears. 'And how, pray, are you so certain of this?' she demanded. 'There's just this minor complication of a dragon at the end of the road, just in case you'd somehow forgotten. What is the point of keeping me here anyway? The point still stands, you know. Thorin is actually capable of doing his reading himself.'

By now Thorin was wholly convinced that the wizard avoided meeting the advisor's eyes on purpose. He was searching his pockets for something, leaving Kate to stare at the point of his hat. 'Thorin is a very stubborn dwarf,' came the reply at long last. 'He needs someone to make him see sense every now and then, someone he cannot ignore too easily. And I'm afraid I needed someone who would not be too much in awe of his reputation to tell him the truth.'

It was like the pieces of a puzzle falling into place. Gandalf had guarded this secret as if his life depended on it and even now he did not part with it easily, but at long last they had now gotten an answer to the question as to why Kate Andrews out of all people had been chosen to join this company.

As much as the dwarf disliked the notion, he also knew that Kate might indeed be well qualified for the job she had been given, with Gandalf's intentions being what they were. Kate was not a person easily ignored when she had her mind set on something. Good grief, she had indeed even made Thorin listen to her, despite the fact that he had not wanted to listen to her at all.

And he also knew that, things being the way they were, Gandalf would never let Kate leave until the quest had been finished. The dwarf king tried and failed not to feel some measure of relief over that. He still feared the book, even though he had indeed agreed to read it and learn its contents. But he also knew that he would never know it the way Kate did. She had been able to drag up pieces of information from memory, even without the source of that information within her reach. She had had years to study it. He did not have that luxury.

'You are either brilliant or insane.' Kate was audibly seething. She wasn't aware that she had an audience and Gandalf appeared not to have noticed it either, which meant that neither of them was holding back. 'You are never going to let me return home now, are you?' Thorin could hear defeat in her voice underneath all the anger. The woman understood how things were. With it came a sadness and a disappointment that Thorin had not yet witnessed in her before, not even that first night in Bag End. She must really have hoped for the wizard to let her go.

'Your work here is not quite finished,' Gandalf replied, still not meeting her eyes.

'You _bastard_!' Those two words were growled with all the loathing and anger that the advisor could muster. Thorin saw her turn on her heels and march back to her previous spot, but it didn't take her long to crumble and fall to her knees. Her sobs reached Thorin's ears before he could wonder what had happened to her.

For some reason it made him want to hit the wizard for making his new friend cry. And he could not for the life of him understand why he would want to do that.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _And to think that it was my stubbornness and big mouth that got me into this mess. Of all the explanations I could have possibly come up with, this has never once been an option._

* * *

**And that's it for today. And I really have to thank **_**Cazcatharsis**_** for the sword name suggestion. I know it was quite some time ago, but I found a way to use it, as you see. And thanks to **_**Gaia-drea**_** for the suggestion about Gandalf's beard. **

**Next time: return of the eagles. Until then, please review?**


	28. Chapter 28 Descending

**Chapter 28**

**Descending**

_I was on the verge of knocking that bloody wizard off the Great Shelf and down the mountain and it took me all the self-control I possessed not to make good on it. That would have created some problems and I wasn't feeling like explaining the sudden loss of the wizard to my companions. Having said that, if he were to fall of his own volition, I would not have been too bothered right away._

_While part of me was relieved to finally learn why Gandalf had chosen me for the job, this also made me want to hit him more. To learn that it had been my temper of all things was what had made him think that I would be best suited for the job had me speechless for a moment, a rare thing for me as you all know. I had come up with explanations of my own and most of them had involved qualities like me knowing the book and me being able to at least know how to handle a camping trip. But none of those things had made complete sense, because there were so many others where I came from who had those qualities as well and would probably be good at fighting on top of that. But no, the thing that apparently set me apart from all those people was the fact that I had a sharp tongue that was supposed to make Thorin see sense._

_Now there was something that almost had me laughing, because no one can make Thorin see sense unless he wants it to. That's one thing I've learned in all those years that I know him, but even then I had already come to see that changing a dwarf's mind was nigh impossible. When they don't want to listen, they just ignore you and pretend you have never even spoken in the first place._

_But anger was not what I felt most of all as I stalked off. It was disappointment. Gandalf's reply was not even that unexpected, and yet I had hoped. To see all those hopes crushed was as if the ground had suddenly disappeared from under my feet. Because I had meant what had told Gandalf: I wanted to go back home, stop my family from worrying. Getting out of this world before all hell could break loose was just an added bonus. I had not thought about home as much as I had done before – being chased by goblins and orcs has the tendency to push that kind of concerns to the back of one's mind – but I knew they still had to worry. I knew my mother and brother and they would fret, no doubt about it._

_But going home was off the agenda for at least some months to come and that was something I had to accept. And I'd rather die than let my companions see my distress and so I made sure I had myself firmly under control again come morning. I would just have to keep myself out of trouble for a little longer and really, how hard could that be? I didn't have to go near that dragon and if I understood my companions at all, they would not let me come within a mile of any battle, never mind such a one as the Battle of the Five Armies. I should be perfectly safe, I told myself._

_However, I changed my mind on that account when Gandalf told us over breakfast that we would be brought a little further by the eagles…_

**Thorin**

The company advisor had paled visibly when the wizard informed the company that the eagles had been offering to take them all down to a point somewhere below. Thorin had been quick to accept the offer. Climbing down from this place would not be easy, could be impossible even, and the help was more than welcome. And he was not unaware of the fact that summer was passing them by rapidly. Durin's Day was drawing ever closer and they would need to make haste if they wanted to reach the Mountain in time.

Some of Thorin's confidence in the quest had been restored, he had found some time ago. Kate's book had proven to be a valuable asset to the quest, as had the advisor herself in some ways. And maybe the fact that they were all still alive and more or less in one piece that fed his optimism. In the light of a new day with help offered to them, things did not look as glum anymore as they had when he had been facing Azog.

That had presumably not the wisest thing to be thinking about right now. His injuries were now itching more than they were painful – some salve Óin had applied to it last night must be to blame for that – but his breathing was still not as easy as it had been before, even if he had been careful to keep that information from the others. It wouldn't do to be seen weak and there were others who needed the help more than he did.

But his injuries were not the worst thing. What haunted Thorin's mind were the memories themselves. Azog's vile words and threats still echoed in his thoughts: insults about his father and grandfather that had made Thorin want to forget everything he had ever learned about being careful, threats about what he would do with the company once he got his hands on them – something the Pale Orc had never doubted would happen eventually – and taunts about what he would do to the woman, informing Thorin that he would make him watch. The helplessness and anger he had experienced were still trying to make him doubt what he was doing all over again. Azog's attack had made him realise that it was simply not within his power to keep everyone safe, because he could not be in multiple places at the same time. His hands clenched into fists again.

'Not looking forward to our little flying trip, I take it?' The voice of the advisor dragged him back to the here and now. She was giving him an inquisitive look, even as her face still was paler than could be healthy and she gave the impression of going to throw up any second now.

He favoured her with a scowl. 'Whatever gave you that impression?'

'You're looking at the eagles as if they have personally offended you,' Kate pointed out. 'That kind of gave it away.'

She had completely misread the situation, but Thorin was not about to set her right this time. These burdens were his to bear and no one else's. Instead he settled for deflecting the question. 'Are you afraid of flying, Miss… Kate?' He had called her Miss Andrews for too long to be sure. It was a habit that would be difficult to get rid of.

'You would be when you had been awake during our trip this way,' the advisor shot back immediately. 'Do you have any idea what a long way you would have fallen if that feather ball had accidentally let go? You'd be dead by now. Hard dwarven bones or no, I do not think anyone would survive such a fall.' The fear was clearly genuine, which surprised the dwarf. She had not shown any fear of heights before now, not even during the thunder battle when they had been too close to the ravine for anyone's peace of mind.

But all in all she seemed calm, too calm perhaps. Thorin had been awake all night, sleep eluding him as he had already feared. Kate had cried for a long time after Gandalf had turned down her request to send her home. Eventually she had gone to her bedroll, but he doubted she'd slept much.

Thorin wasn't sure whether to be understanding of her desire to go home or to be mad at her for scheming to get away from the company. Those two warred for dominance and until he had come to a decision on the subject himself, it was probably a subject best avoided. Yes, he did understand the need to put her family's minds at ease, but the fact that she had been trying to abandon this quest and her newfound family in the process made him almost forget about that. Thorin valued loyalty almost above everything else and if anything, Kate had just proven that she did not. No matter what her reasons were for acting as she did, Thorin found he could not approve of it.

But until he had decided what to do with this – after all, he had not even been meant to hear that particular conversation – he could best keep quiet about it. 'I do not think the eagles will let you fall,' he told the advisor.

'Won't they?' Kate muttered darkly under her breath, stealing a suspicious glance at one of them.

Thorin decided it was not worth his time debating over. He had more pressing concerns than Kate's fear of flying. He would admit – but only to himself mind – that he wasn't really looking forward to flying himself, but her behaviour was exaggerated. Dwarves were creatures that preferred living underground, that preferred to have their feet firmly on the ground. Losing contact with said ground made Thorin more or less uneasy and he could see that he was not alone in that. From all his companions only Gandalf was perfectly at ease, but that was not even a surprise anymore. It had become customary for the wizard to love all the things Thorin hated.

Eagles were coming in now to pick up his company. They were allowed to climb on the birds' backs, provided they did not pull out any feathers, to sit between their wings. Gandalf had already secured himself a place, following the proceedings with a serene smile, or as serene as he could manage with that burnt beard of his. Surely he must know that dwarves would be the last creatures who would appreciate this manner of transport? Then how could he sit there and treat this as if it was nothing of real importance?

But they were dwarves and they would not show their fear. It was an unspoken and unwritten rule. Even the hobbit seemed to handle it well enough. He even seemed to take some pleasure in it, which could not be said for the advisor. She had her hands clenched around the bag that she clutched to her chest as if it was the only thing that kept her alive. Dori was trying to persuade her to climb on, but he wasn't having much success so far.

Thorin marched over to them. 'What is going on here?' he demanded.

'I've decided to walk down,' Kate announced. 'I am not flying.'

'I'm trying to convince my sister to climb on the eagle's back,' Dori said at the same time.

And this was really not the time for Kate to remember that she had a dislike of flying. They had to be going and if Thorin knew Dori at all, he would rather try to gently persuade his adopted sister to get on the eagle and that was something they did not have the time for right now.

'Leave it to me, Dori,' he told the grey dwarf. This was more of an order than anything else and it should be clearly audible.

Dori's reply was a wary look. Being the fussy man that he was he probably already suspected that Thorin's idea of persuading Kate did not consist of gentle coaxing. And in that assumption he would be right. The dwarf king felt like picking the advisor up, swinging her over his shoulder and carry her over to the eagle if that was the quickest way to go about this. And Dori was bound not to approve of such methods where his family was concerned. Thorin just so happened to also be the leader of this company – even if Gandalf seemed to have forgotten about that – and Dori would not defy his orders in a hurry.

It didn't stop him from giving Thorin a very warning glance before he stalked off. It was the look that said that Thorin was going to regret his actions if he as much as thought about being unkind to Kate. It was no less than Thorin expected from him, but he secretly wondered if Dori would still be so protective of her when he learned that Kate had been meaning to leave them, quite possibly without as much as a goodbye.

'What is this?' he demanded of the advisor.

'I don't like flying, is all,' came the reply, even if her facial colour suggested that dislike was something of an understatement. Thorin half-expected her to faint any moment now. 'I'll be fine if I just walk down.'

'That will cost us valuable time,' Thorin felt obliged to point out. 'And time is something that is in short supply here. You will get up that eagle now.'

At least he had triggered her anger now. 'You're in a bright mood,' she observed venomously. 'What on earth caused that?'

_Your scheming_. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but he bit them back, meeting her eyes with as cold a stare as he could muster. 'You are stalling, Kate,' he told her, only just being able to refrain from calling her Miss Andrews as he had done before. But somehow that would be appropriate to address her as such, because her actions had spoken for themselves. Friends would not walk out when it suited them. And she may not have done so, but that was not by her own choice. And it was the intention that counted. 'I will give you one last chance to go of your own volition or I'll have to carry you.'

Only a fool would miss out on the warning glance in her eyes. 'You wouldn't dare.'

Thorin took that as a challenge. He picked her up and swung her over his shoulder as if she was a piece of luggage before she even got the chance to realise what was happening. Doubtlessly Dori and Nori would see fit to scold him for this maltreatment of their sister later, but Thorin could not be less concerned about that. Kate herself struggled, but to no avail. Thorin was much stronger than she was and her attempts felt feeble to him.

'Put me down, you hairy buffoon!' The words were somewhat muffled because she was positioned so that her face was pressed into the fur of his coat.

Thorin ignored her, carrying her up the eagle. Only when he had her where he wanted her he set her down. 'Can you carry us both?' he demanded of the bird. Someone had to make sure that she did not climb back off again, or that she fell off when she fainted.

He was rewarded with a dignified nod of the eagle's head. 'That will not present any problem,' he informed the dwarf. 'The woman hardly weighs anything.'

'Charming,' Kate commented, but it was more bravado now than actual anger. The anger seemed to have remained on the ground. Thorin was still in the process of steadying her and he felt her trembling, her face ashen white. Seeing her like that made it hard to maintain his anger. She just looked lost now, lost and scared, far away from everything and everyone she knew. Thorin would almost pity her. But not quite, because he was unable to forget the conversation he had overheard only last night.

The eagle turned his head around, an amused expression in his huge eyes. 'I will not let you fall, young one. There will be no need for your fear. I will carry you safely to your destination.'

'You'd better,' the advisor muttered. Presumably this was meant as a threat, but it came out sounding much more like a question than anything else.

'You may turn me into a pillow should I fail to make good on my promise,' the eagle said. He let out a sound that might well be intended as laughter, as if this was some kind of a joke Thorin did not understand.

But it did produce some kind of smile on Kate's face. 'I might hold you to that.'

The eagle laughed again and then took off, causing Kate to grip the feathers in front of her as if her very life depended on it. Thorin himself did not like the movements either. The eagle's flight reminded him of a small boat on stormy waters. He had that particular experience several times, but he had not liked it any better than he liked this. Dwarves were just not meant to be in the air or on water. They needed to have the solid ground beneath their feet to feel secure. And it would seem that the advisor didn't feel any differently about the matter.

To distract himself Thorin inquired what the threat with the pillow came from. He had been wondering about this anyway and it had the added bonus of distracting both of them from this unpleasant flying experience.

Kate bit her lip. 'I may or may not have threatened to turn him into a pillow if he so much as thought about dropping me when he took us from the battlefield.' She was staring right ahead, still pale, but also a little ashamed it would seem.

It didn't take too much effort for Thorin to piece it all together. The eagle presumably had done something Kate had not at all been pleased with, causing her to utter such a threat, quite possibly during the flight. That was the only time she could have done so, since that was the only time the dwarf had been unconscious. All the other times he had seen the eagles nothing untoward had occurred or he would have heard about it.

He shook his head. This woman really was a walking and breathing contradiction, a riddle wrapped up in a mystery and he could not sound her out. This was the woman who had run at Azog calling him a bastard even when she had no fighting skills to speak of. She had also threatened a mighty eagle in full flight, when there was every chance said eagle would just drop her. Kate had also been the one to see to Thorin's wounds before they could the chance to infect – for which Óin had loudly and extensively praised her – even when she was almost dropping from exhaustion. Yet this was also the woman who was afraid of flying and who planned to abandon them all, as if none of her companions even mattered to her. That behaviour was so contradictory and Thorin could not for the life of him understand how one person could do such different things.

And it made it very difficult for him to determine what to feel, what to think, what to do. Part of him still wanted to tear up her contract and send her on her way. If she did not want to be here, in spite of having family among their number, then Thorin would not even want to have her within this company. Such a member was unreliable and would run at the first sight of trouble and that was something he could really do without.

Except that Kate had not run at the first sight of trouble. She had done exactly the opposite. Instead of running away when she had the chance on the battlefield, she had remained, had run back even to save Thorin from Azog when he was not capable of defending himself. She had risked her life for him and for that he owed her. No, the strange thing about this was that Kate had not shown any signs of wanting to run away until they were out of trouble.

And to complicate things even further Thorin also understood her desire to leave. She was not doing this for herself – or at least that was not the entire reason why she was doing this – but she was acting as she did because she wanted to reassure her family and that was something Thorin could understand better than most people alive. He could relate to her in that respect and because of that, he found himself incapable of condemning her actions entirely.

'You threatened a flying eagle to turn him into a pillow while he was having you in his talons and could drop you at a moment's notice?' Thorin forced himself to keep his mind on the here and now and wait till he had both feet firmly on the ground again before he would address the issue of Kate's motives.

She was still looking right ahead, but she tensed a little. 'I wasn't thinking.' The words came out curtly and dismissively, making it clear that she had no wish to discuss this matter. 'And you would have done the same if said eagle had suddenly dropped several metres.'

Thorin doubted that, but he let it be for the moment. The eagle had started to gain height slowly and it took most of his attention to keep both of them in place. An eagle's back was not the ideal place to steady oneself and the fact remained that Kate was unhealthily pale. The dwarf had still not dismissed the notion that she could pass out here and now whenever she got too frightened and therefore he made sure to hold on to her waist. The gesture felt uncomfortably intimate and he could tell that the advisor did not appreciate it either. She tensed under his hands and seemed to shy away from him, even if there was nowhere to go. But he'd rather feel uncomfortable now than have her pass out and fall later. He had made it his personal responsibility that she would come out of this quest alive and that was a vow he would uphold if he could.

They were silent for a while, both of them lost in their own thoughts. It was only when an annoyed eagle turned his head and addressed the advisor that he was snapped out of it. 'Don't pinch, little fledgling,' he chastised. 'You need not be frightened like a rabbit. It is a fair morning with little wind and what is finer than flying on such a day?'

'I can think of a number of things!' Kate retorted. 'And all of them require having solid ground under my feet. And can you please watch where you're bloody well going?' she added when the eagle continued to look at her. The anger seemed to control the fear and nausea she appeared to be experiencing and once again Thorin wondered if she happened to get her energy from anger. It would make for a logical explanation. The way she was acting now would suggest that, at least for this moment, she had forgotten about her fear, all her attention taken up by the irritation that was visible on her face.

'Look ahead, little one,' the eagle said, its head still turned in their direction. 'Tell me what you see.'

'Follow your own advice,' Kate muttered almost inaudibly. Thorin only heard her because he was so close to her. 'Sky?' she ventured then in reply to the eagle's request. 'And clouds and more sky?' The advisor seemed to be doing her best not to look down, even as it would make sense for the eagle to point out something that was below them.

Their mount – even if that word somehow seemed wholly inappropriate – laughed again. 'Look better, little one. Look to the east and tell me what you see there.'

Kate didn't give the impression that she wanted to look, but Thorin's interest was piqued now. He carefully leaned around Kate, searching the eastern horizon in search of what the eagle had indicated. At first he saw nothing more than what Kate had already mentioned. But he looked harder and he saw a forest in the distance. It spread out from north to south as far as the eye could see. Mirkwood, a soft voice whispered in the back of his mind.

And then he caught on. Because if that was Mirkwood he was seeing, then he also knew what was lying behind it. He strained his eyes a little further and looked better now, beyond the dark spot that infernal wood was in this light and from this height and found what he was looking for. And instantly his heart was soaring and he could feel his mouth curl in a relieved smile.

'Erebor,' he whispered.

**Kate**

'Erebor,' Thorin said softly.

If Kate had not been sitting on the back of a flying eagle she would have swivelled around to look at him in confusion. The dwarf king sounded almost peaceful now where he had been grumpy and irritable only minutes before. His voice was filled with a mixture of wonder and joy, but beneath it Kate detected a sadness and a longing that was so old that she could not ever hope to understand.

She half-turned to look at him, hoping and praying that Thorin had not forgotten that he was supposed to keep her from falling. What she saw on his face was what had been suggested by the tone in his voice, so she found. Thorin was not the man to show his emotions easily, but in this moment he seemed to have forgotten about that entirely. He was even smiling and Kate could count the times she had seen that sight on the fingers of one hand. And she would still have fingers to spare.

It also told her how much the Lonely Mountain meant to the dwarf, as nothing else could have done. Before now she had known that this quest was important to him, else he would not have taken the risk at all, because trying to defeat a dragon with so few a number was foolish indeed. But in the time that she had been here she had mostly seen him worry for his company. Thorin just did not show what he felt very often, but by the looks of things now this was a sight for sore eyes to him, something he had longed to see for a long time.

Hiding feelings was definitely not one of his main concerns now. The expression on his face had softened, making him look years younger. For once he didn't look like he had the weight of the world resting upon his shoulders. And it had all been brought on by the sight of that silhouette on the horizon. Kate turned back and looked at it herself. There wasn't very much to see. The Mountain was still a long way off and they would face quite a few more dangers before they would reach it, but the shape was there and it was recognisable.

'That's the Lonely Mountain,' the eagle confirmed. Thank God that he was looking right ahead again, because Kate had gotten rather uneasy when his head had been turned. Of course there were no planes or other moving objects that they could collide with at this distance, but still. 'It is still a good few days flight from where we are now.'

'And more days walk than fly, I'd say,' Thorin muttered. He had yet to take his eyes off the Mountain. The joy had faded somewhat, only to be replaced by what looked like fierce longing.

'You couldn't just fly us there, could you?' Kate ventured. The idea had just popped up in her head and while unlikely, they'd never know for certain if they did not ask. And the eagles flying them to their destination would not only save them from a lot of walking, Thranduil's dungeons and some really nasty spiders – and the thought of those alone was enough to make Kate shudder – but it would also mean that they would be at the Mountain long before Durin's Day, giving them the opportunity to find the secret door.

The eagle just laughed again. 'I am not a horse, little fledgling.'

'And no one in his senses would ever mistake you for one,' Kate muttered.

The eagle continued as if he had not heard her, which was probably for the best, since she figured he might not appreciate the remark that much. 'And we have a duty to keep the goblins in check.'

'Just in case they feel like getting mischievous again, I bet.' Kate could understand that. In the book there had been something about the eagles owing Gandalf a debt, which they chose to repay by saving the company from the orcs. But according to the book they were not so anxious to go anywhere near human settlements for fear of getting shot. Well, she could understand that – having no ambition to get shot herself – but it was a shame that they would still need to walk all the way to the Lonely Mountain.

The eagle was starting to circle down and Kate gripped the feathers a little tighter. She was careful not to rip them out, but she wasn't in a hurry to fall off because she had not held on tight enough. Thorin's hands still had her waist in their grip, but Kate thought it best not to rely on that too much. She did not believe that the dwarf would let go of her, but right now he was very distracted by the sight of his Mountain. Kate guessed she could have detonated a bomb next to him and he would not have noticed.

And the attitude was entirely alien to her. Of course she understood the wish to be home. That same wish had caused her to clash with Gandalf so spectacularly only last night. But she doubted she would ever look at her home with such fierce longing, like it was the anchor preventing her from drifting off. Because that was what it appeared to be for Thorin.

Maybe she would look that way too if it had been her home that been invaded by a furnace with wings, as Bofur had so eloquently phrased it. The dwarves had not discussed it too much, but Balin had told some things, enough to make Kate understand how terrible it truly had been.

_Really, it can't be that bad to just lend them a hand now, can it?_ Kate had no idea where that little voice came from, but she hated it already. It threatened to undermine her resolve to do anything in her power to go home early, to get out of Middle Earth before she could form attachments that were too strong to forget in a hurry. It would only end up in pain and heartache and that she really could do without.

_It's also the coward's way out_, the voice spoke up again. The journalist strongly suspected that it was common sense rearing its ugly head again. It had been blessedly quiet of late, but it sure as hell was making up for it now. And why did it have to make so much sense all the time? Kate had never pictured herself as too much of a coward. In arguments she tended to meet her opponent head on. Fights with swords were a little different, but she could at least say that she had not run from Azog and that had to count for something. Her personal life however was not that well in terms of being brave. Running away from problems, so her mother had told her, might seem like the easy way, but it was never the right one. And Kate didn't like what her current attitude said about her, not at all.

_Gandalf is never going to let you go back before the quest has been completed_, the voice chimed in, almost cheerful. _So this debate with me is pointless either way_.

Now there was something that did make sense, maybe the most of all. In the end it came down to Gandalf choosing when or even if she would be allowed to return home and last night had proven to her that she had absolutely no say in the matter whatsoever. And Gandalf would not let her go back before this quest had been completed to his full satisfaction if his reasons for bringing Kate here were as he had told her. To think that he had chosen her of all people only because she would not be afraid to tell Thorin that he was being a right royal imbecile half of the time! Well, at least that assessment had been more or less spot on. Kate could all too easily imagine the number of people of her world who would be far too impressed by him to even as much as think about telling him that he was making a mistake, or who would be too busy fangirling over him, she added to herself with a wry smile.

Well, at least that was one thing she would not be doing anytime soon. Really, she doubted anyone in their senses would after being confronted with this grumpy dwarf with mood swings. But for all his annoying behaviour, they had agreed to be friends, no matter how unlikely that friendship even was. She would act on it, she had decided, especially now that she was not going home anytime in the foreseeable future. She was doomed to share the entire quest with this company, so it would seem. Gandalf at least had been adamant about that and the wizard was nothing if not a very stubborn man. He may accuse Thorin and her of having thick skulls – and maybe they had – but Gandalf was at least as bad as they were in that respect. Oh, no doubt he was doing this for the good of Middle Earth and that was also the one reason why she had not given into her urge to throw him down the mountain. He was almost impossible to really hate.

Kate recalled the poem she had read to the company. She tried not to, but the harder she tried, the more insistent those words seemed to become, trying to make themselves heard. _Or wonder, till it drives you mad, what would have followed if you had_. It would seem that she was bound to find out what would happen if she stayed anyway, because there was no real choice in the matter. But she also found that she wasn't that opposed to staying, not if she was really honest with herself. It had mostly been fear that had made her pursue the quest of going home again so fiercely.

Now that there really did not seem to be a choice anymore, her mind seemed awfully bent on pointing out the advantages of this arrangement. She would get to spend more time with her new family and friends – because she would only be fooling herself if she tried to say that they were anything less than that – and maybe, just maybe, she could put her knowledge to good use. It was ambitious perhaps, but it would give her purpose here, a task. She could rise above being a burden if she accepted the role Gandalf intended for her to fill.

The advisor was reminded of something Thorin had said to her, shortly before they had decided to become friends. _There is no use in fighting_, he had said. And maybe he was right there. Up till now Kate always had this feeling that she was fighting her way upstream in a river with a strong current. That road was hard. She had to fight for every step. And for every step she made in the right direction, she had to take two steps back. It would be so much easier to just let the current take her where it wanted her to go, because it would mean her life would be so much easier.

'You are quiet,' Thorin remarked after some time. 'Are you unwell?'

She frowned. Since when did Thorin Oakenshield care about her wellbeing? Oh, well, he had always done, even when he had not liked her personally. Come to think of liking in general, Kate wasn't even sure he did now. She supposed he did at least a little, since he had been the one to propose friendship.

'Just thinking,' she replied, although his question brought the fact that she was still seated on a flying eagle back to the forefront of her mind. 'And thanks so very much for reminding me. I really could have done without that.'

The eagle was descending in earnest now. While this was definitely a good thing, it did nothing to soothe her stomach. Kate was pretty sure all this flying fear was something of her own mind and that was what her stomach reacted to, but it did not make the nausea go away. But she was not going to be seen throwing up on the back of an eagle. He would surely not thank her for that, that much was for sure. And Kate did not have a death wish, none whatsoever.

Thorin seemed to sense that. She could feel him push himself away from her a little, even if his hands remained where they had been for the duration of the flight. If this had been a normal situation, Kate was pretty sure she would start to find it awkward by now.

'I am not going to vomit anytime soon,' she said, trying and failing to sound indignant. He was probably right to fear that she would throw up and she knew it.

'What were you thinking about?' Thorin's voice was calm. The advisor could still hear the peaceful tone in it. Seeing his ancestral home really had made quite an impression on him. And because it made such an impression on her new friend, it did on her as well. For some reason it made her see him in a different light. A few days ago she would have disliked the very thought of there being a nicer, nobler side to Thorin than just the grumpy and short-tempered leader of the company, but that was just her own dislike of like him. _Guess that fanfictions are not all wrong about him after all, even if most of them still are a load of nonsense._

'Home,' she replied. 'And the uselessness of fighting.' She was not in a hurry to explain this to him in its entirety, especially not when she was not sure what she had even decided to do just now, but she would not lie to him either. Friends did not do that. And Thorin and Kate may be the most unconventional and unorthodox of friends, but they were friends all the same. And she had still to determine how that had even happened in the first place. Because back home she did not have any friends that were somewhat nice, only to snap at her the very next second. She would not have put up with it. And neither did she believe that Thorin's idea of friendship consisted of having his friends yell at him at least twice a day.

Something told her he understood what she was talking about anyway, even without her having to spell it out for him. It was as unnerving as it was reassuring. Kate had not realised how much she missed having someone around who understood her as completely as this dwarf seemed to be doing. Her first reaction was to shy away from it, to hide behind some mask or other, but that would be the easy way. And Kate Andrews was not known for taking the easy way.

'It's just useless to fight,' she repeated, not even sure why she was explaining this to him any further. Maybe it was just because it was easier to talk to him when she could not see his face. That would have to be it, she supposed. 'And well…' She hesitated here. 'You really want your home back, don't you?'

'Yes.' The reply was hardly audible over the noise of the eagle's wings, but he was so close she could hear it anyway. There was a world of longing, heartache and grief in that one simple word and it made Kate realise just how much Erebor meant to Thorin, better than a thousand words could have ever done.

Kate forced herself to shrug as if it was no big deal at all. 'Well, let's take it back then, shall we?'

* * *

From Thorin's notes: _I do not think I will ever be able to understand this woman. Only last night she begged Gandalf to let her leave, but today she seems determined to stay. What does she want?_

* * *

**Yes, I wrote an entire chapter with the two of them on the back of an eagle, and I'm not quite sure how that even happened. Anyway, this is how it turned out, so I hope you liked it. **

**_Kaia_, I think Kate is aware of the possibility that the flow of time in Middle Earth may not equal that of her world, but she has no way of knowing for certain and that is why she worries. Worst case scenarios and all that. **

**Next chapter should be up Sunday. Until then, reviews would mean a lot. I like to hear what you thought about this chapter.**


	29. Chapter 29 Schemes

**Hello, dear readers. Just a fair warning in advance: this chapter is a monster, the longest I have ever written, I think, and I'm not quite sure how that even happened.**

**On another note, I had some people wonder if I would stop now, because it's the end of the first movie. The answer to that is no, I'm not going to do that. I've got more than enough ideas to continue this story on book and imagination alone. So, I hope you'll enjoy the ride.**

* * *

**Chapter 29**

**Schemes**

_The eagles dropped us off at the Carrock, as I knew the name of the rock was. I recognised it instantly from the movie. At least I got the satisfaction of seeing a few flabbergasted faces when I blurted out the name of the place before Gandalf before they remembered that this might well be something straight out of the book in my backpack. Not that they knew that said book was even there and really, I wasn't in a hurry to have them find out. Kíli was already overly enthusiastic. And in a way his enthusiasm hurt, because I knew what the book said about his fate at the end of the quest, and it was just too painful to think about._

_Fortunately I had distraction near at hand. Gandalf was announcing in book-style that he would lead us to Beorn – not that he used the name at the time. The wizard seemed to take great pleasure in copying the lines from the book at times. Sometimes I could swear that he did it on purpose, because he knew the book as well as I did. For some reason this annoyed me. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that he knew the book, but had so far failed to act on it, or that was what I thought then anyway._

_Something had changed during that flight on the eagle, and I was not yet sure what it was. I still was extremely pissed off with that bloody wizard for manipulating me and small part of me even wished that it had not just been his beard that had gotten burnt. But another part of me had realised that fighting him wasn't going to do me any favours either. Maybe I had needed that argument to make me fully accept my presence here. It still did not mean that I liked being with the dwarves on the quest, but it did mean that I could resign myself to it, because there didn't seem to be a list of other options for me._

_Therefore the mention of visiting Beorn was a welcome one. We had been able to take some of our supplies with us from Goblin-town, unlike in the book and movie, and there were some left-overs from dinner, but all in all our supplies were running low. So I was definitely not protesting when we left the Carrock and descended towards the river…_

**Kate**

It was going to be another warm summer's day, Kate could tell. It was still early morning, but already it was too warm for her cloak. It seemed to be hotter on this side of the mountains than it had been on the western side of them.

The dwarves were completely unbothered by the heat, or so it would seem. Thorin was even wearing that stupid fur-lined coat of his. Kate would feel criminally overheated with that on, but the dwarf didn't even sweat. Lucky him.

Gandalf was leading them down to some ford or other, marching cheerfully at the head of the column, conveniently forgetting that he was not the leader of this company, again. His pipe had made it through Goblin-town, as had his altogether large supply of pipe-weed, and he was merrily smoking the morning away. Kate wondered if someone had ever told him about the risks of smoking for one's health, but she seriously doubted it. Or maybe, being a wizard, he was just immune to the effects. She would not put it past him.

'Mister Gandalf, could we not stop at the river for a while for a quick swim?' Dori spoke up when the Anduin came into sight. 'We would all be grateful for a chance to clean ourselves a bit.'

Thorin sent Dori a scowl because the question had not been directed at him, but both wizard and dwarf pretended not to see. Gandalf was looking thoughtful and not at all in favour of that idea. 'We need to move on, Master Dwarf,' he replied.

Kate frowned as well. The chance to wash and clear the orc blood and filth of Goblin-town off her skin was tempting to say the least. And if she recalled her book well, they had stopped to bathe in the river. And surely Gandalf must know that. 'And how would our host like it if we showed up on his doorstep looking like a bunch of filthy beggars?' she chimed in. She may have accepted that she was here now, but that did not quite mean that she was ready to put up with Gandalf's every whim, because if that was what he thought was going to happen, he'd have another thing coming. 'If I remember that book correctly, he doesn't like beggars very much. And we would like to make a good first impression, would we not?'

Thorin's smirk told her he knew exactly what she was doing. Whatever seemed to have bothered him that morning, it would appear that it had been solved. At any rate he seemed to be approving of what she was doing right now. She had a feeling he didn't like the wizard very much either, which would mean that Gandalf was only here because the presence of a wizard could be very useful when one was intending to go up against a dragon.

Gandalf sent her a glare, but he was apparently not intending to go up against thirteen hopeful dwarves, human and hobbit and so he gave in. 'Well, if we can make this as quick as can be,' he allowed. But Kate was not fooled. It was not him that was allowing anything here.

They made a small camp near the river bank. Kíli and Ori were already stripping, running towards the water before Dori called them out. 'You cannot undress in the presence of a lady!' he snarled at the younger dwarves as if they had been school boys caught doing something very illegal.

Kate herself chuckled at the notion of her being a lady. The two looked rather ashamed and that actually made her giggle. Really, did they think she would be that easily scandalised? 'Don't worry about it,' she told them. 'I'm not that easily shocked, believe me. You can go right ahead. This lady here is going to take her bath a little further upstream.' She was already gathering her belongings. Thank goodness that she had at least a few of her clothes from the other world stuffed at the bottom of her backpack. The spare clothes she had purchased in Bree had all gotten lost in Goblin-town and she was not about to wear the ones she was currently wearing before they had been washed.

Dori however did not seem to like this notion. 'There can be wargs out there still,' he pointed out.

'Not bloody likely after the eagles' treatment,' Kate retorted. As far as she knew the eagles had set to the task of "controlling" the wargs' and goblins' behaviour with a vengeance. Besides, the book didn't mention anything about an attack while they were out here bathing. 'And the book says we're perfectly safe here.' Her secret was out now anyway. She might as well rub their noses in it from time to time. And the looks on their faces were absolutely priceless.

She had marched off before the dwarves found their tongues again, feeling altogether pleased with her own performance just now. Someone could be heard chuckling – Kate suspected it might be Bofur – and a few even laughed. The general mood was relaxed and cheerful and after so long in danger, running on adrenaline, it was a true relief to be able to take the time to relax. And the chance to take a bath wasn't entirely unwelcome to Kate either. She was pretty convinced she actually smelled worse than most of the goblins she had encountered.

The water of the river was cold and made her shiver, but she did feel better once she had washed the dirt off her skin and out of her hair. A warm shower would have been preferable, but those were not readily available in Middle Earth and she would have to make do with what was.

In the reflecting water she could also see the damage that goblin's whip had done to her face. Óin had not been lying when he had told her it was healing well, but it didn't exactly heal beautifully and it was quite obvious that it would leave a scar all across her face. Kate usually didn't think of herself as a vain woman, but this was a disappointment, even though she would never admit that to anyone but herself. That scar was ugly and she could only just bite back tears of frustration. She was not going to cry, not when things could have turned out so much worse.

She turned her back on her reflection and set about washing her clothes. She had some soap, but it wasn't ideal. Some of the stains, especially the ones that were caused by blood, were difficult to get out. But it would have to do, because washing machines were as hard to come by as showers around here.

Kate returned to the camp approximately half an hour later, feeling lots better than she had before. She was back in jeans and a shirt, making her feel much more like her old self, the Kate that had never seen a goblins' realm or orcs and wargs charging at her.

'Any of your clothes need mending, Kate?' Dori called out to her when he noticed her returning.

'Just some buttons that seemed to have done a disappearing act somewhere in Goblin-town,' she replied, secretly glad that he was offering. It was quite possible that women in Middle Earth were supposed to be doing the mending, but Kate had always been a hopeless case where needle and thread had been involved. 'And I think there's a tear in my cloak somewhere as well.'

She took the items and walked over to Dori. Her adopted brother held out his hands to take them, but seemed to freeze in mid-motion when he laid eyes on her. His eyes widened and he seemed to be choking on something. 'What is that?' he demanded.

Kate sent him a confused look. 'What is _what_?' She went over what could have shocked him so in her head, but could not come up with one single thing that could justify such a reaction.

'That… that…' Dori seemed lost for words, so he just pointed at her torso.

Kate frowned. 'T-shirt?' she provided. 'What on earth is wrong with…?' It hit her just a little too late that this shirt was short-sleeved and come to think of it, if she recalled the movies right she had never seen one woman in it go around with sleeves as short as hers. For all she knew her way of dressing was wholly inappropriate here.

Dori's scandalised look seemed to confirm that theory. 'You can't wear that, Kate!'

This triggered her own irritation. 'I'm not about to wear that still soaking shirt,' she pointed out. 'So it's either this or go around naked.' Really, there was nothing wrong with her clothes. All important bits were covered. It were only her arms that were left bare, for crying out loud. Of course she had known that these dwarves were taking propriety way too serious, but this was exaggerated. And she was not even from this world. She would not provoke her new friends unnecessarily, but they would have to learn to deal with some of the customs of her world.

Dwalin, who had been drinking a cup of water, practically inhaled the liquid when he heard her say that. Several of the others around the campfire appeared to be in a state of shock as well. And Kate would be lying if she said that she secretly did not think this very funny. They had such different views of what was normal and what wasn't. She had no doubt that her new friends were truly shocked by her appearance. They were completely genuine.

Dori still looked like the very image of disapproval, but he gave her a curt nod. 'Please change before we move on.'

Kate had no intention of changing at all. It was far too hot to go around in shirts with long sleeves and a cloak. If the dwarves were perfectly content to cook themselves in all that wool and armour, they were welcome to it, but she was not going to do that. She had kicked off her boots as well, enjoying the feel of the soft grass under her feet.

Most of the dwarves were still in the river and the ones that weren't were doing something useful. So Kate grabbed her bag and pulled out her copy of _The Hobbit_. She might as well do her homework. She was the company advisor after all and she should do her research.

But her thoughts were drifting. Her companions were not paying her any mind, too focused on their own tasks. Gandalf was the only one doing nothing at all. And it was precisely the wizard that was bothering in a way she could not quite put her finger on. It was not just that he had refused to send her back home again. There were more things. His disappearing act in Goblin-town was right on the top of the list. Because in Kate's mind that didn't seem to be making any sense at all. He had known that they were at risk, even if they had indeed avoided the front gate. In the book he had flashed some impressive lights that prevented the goblins from taking him as well as the dwarves. He had done no such thing in real life. If Bilbo was to be believed, and Kate tended to do that, then he had just hidden himself while they had all been taken. He had sat back and watched while the company was dragged away by the goblins. And that was behaviour that was mindboggling, because it was just not like Gandalf to act in such a fashion.

Kate narrowed her eyes at the unsuspecting wizard's back, trying to work out what the hell he had been thinking leaving them at the goblins' obvious lack of mercy. The only thing her mind could come up with was the notion that if Gandalf had left them, it was because he wanted them to be taken into Goblin-town. Now there was a notion that sounded ridiculous and unlikely to her. They may not agree about everything, but that did not mean that he would just leave them when he disagreed with them. No, he had to have ulterior motives.

_Maybe this is not about the dwarves_. She had no idea where that thought had come from, but once it had taken root in her mind, there was no escaping it. Her eyes sought out Bilbo, who was fussing over some buttons of his waistcoat that had remained behind in Goblin-town as well. He had been to Gollum's lair, of that was certain. The halfling had told the tale of the riddle-competition shortly after his return, even if he had carefully edited out the finding of the Ring. Kate had been busy herself then, so she didn't have the time to ask or even think about it then, but now the Ring had her undivided attention.

The only conclusion to be drawn from this was that Gandalf for some reason beyond her comprehension had wanted Bilbo to find the Ring. And if that was the case, then it would explain several other things as well, like why he had been objecting to the company taking another pass road, or his apparent lack of concern for the existence of a front door. Subtly he had been steering them towards the point where they had been taken by the goblins.

Kate remembered ranting that Gandalf did not seem to be acting on the knowledge of the book, but she came back from that now. In his own cunning way he had been ascertaining that things would go his way. Where Kate had been trying to change the events, Gandalf had been trying to make sure that things went exactly as they happened in the book. He had been the force working against her all the time!

'That sly bastard!' she hissed. What on earth was he even hoping to achieve by acting like this? He had brought her here to change things, had he not? Then why would he suddenly be working so hard to prevent her from doing that? It was completely insane!

She only became aware of her friends looking at her in confusion when Glóin asked her what the matter was. Until then she had been too absorbed by her own train of thought to even realise that she had spoken out loud.

'I'm having a Gandalf-hating mood, that's what,' she growled, getting to her feet. The wizard was not getting away with this, not while she lived and breathed. She marched over to him, even if Ori could be heard asking, sounding a little worried, what she was going to do. Kate ignored him for now. She had a wizard to confront.

Said wizard was leaning on his staff, smoking his pipe and staring out over the river. He probably heard her coming, but if he did, he did not show it.

'What do you think you're doing?' Kate demanded, not in the mood for pleasantries.

'About what, dear girl?' Gandalf politely inquired. The smoke obscured his face and it gave the advisor the strange urge to tear it from his hand and throw it into the river, so that she would see who she was talking to.

'About you wanting us to go to Goblin-town,' she clarified, speaking from between clenched teeth. It took her all she had not to knock some sense into that man's head. Maybe Bilbo finding the Ring was a necessity, but surely there should have been other ways to achieve that goal? How could he just have let them be taken, putting practically all of them through hell, all because he wanted the burglar to find the Ring? It made her feel like all of them were just pawns in some huge chess game this wizard was playing and she did not like it one bit. 'And do not even as much as think about trying to deny it,' she added in a snarl when she saw he was about to do just that. 'Your behaviour doesn't leave any room at all for another explanation.'

Gandalf's mouth had already opened, but it closed again after that last outburst. 'Ah,' he simply said.

'Ah, indeed.' Kate clenched her hands into fists. 'Feeling in an explanatory mood already?' She could not even remember the last time she had been this angry. She didn't think she even had been this mad that first night in Bag End. But now, she felt betrayed as well as used and it made her boil over with rage, the anger singing in her blood, urging her to hurt this manipulating excuse for a wizard. 'Tell me, is that other pass road even really blocked or was that just your way of assuring we would take the more dangerous road?'

'My dear girl…' Gandalf began.

'Don't you dare go all patronising on me,' she warned him. This may be childish behaviour, but she could not care less. She could feel all her companions' eyes on her, but they didn't mean anything to her right now. Later she would no doubt regret her actions, feel ashamed of them even, but those were concerns for a later moment. Right now the anger had her firmly within its grasp and she surrendered to it willingly. 'Correct me if I am wrong, but I think it was your intention to let Bilbo find a certain circular object under the Misty Mountains, was it not?'

Kate was one hundred percent convinced that this indeed was the case, even if she had not yet figured out what Gandalf wanted with it. If he had a last shred of sanity left – something which she rather doubted after recent events – he would make them turn south to destroy the bloody thing before it could cause any more harm, thus preventing the whole War of the Ring. That would be the responsible thing to do.

'I take it you are referring to Bilbo's magical Ring?' Gandalf asked. His voice was calm and even kind, even if he still did not meet Kate's eyes.

'No, Bombur's finest frying pan,' she snapped sarcastically. 'Of course I'm talking about that cursed Ring. I take it you at least do know what it is?'

'I do.' The reply was accompanied by a curt nod of the head.

He surely was not very forthcoming with the information he knew Kate was after and it enraged her even more. 'Should we not act now?' she asked incredulously. 'Destroy it while we have the chance? Before Sauron can gain power again?' That had to be Gandalf's motive for acting out this hare-brained scheme. It was the only reason that would make the tiniest bit of sense. Gandalf was a kind of guardian of Middle Earth. Destroying Rings would probably be one of the tasks described in his job description, she thought wryly, even if protecting dwarves was clearly not.

'Ah,' Gandalf said again. 'Not exactly, no.'

Kate narrowed her eyes in suspicion, not liking the sound of this at all. 'What do you mean?' she questioned. Had that man taken leave of his senses entirely?

It would certainly appear so. 'Have you forgotten the many uses of said Ring to the success of the quest?' Gandalf asked. He was still smoking. By the way he was looking he wasn't even remotely worried. Kate had no idea what was in that pipe, but it had definitely addled his brain. He was talking nonsense now.

'Of course I know the importance of the Ring,' she said irritably. 'But that's not really the point now, is it? In the long run that stupid thing is only going to do more harm than good.' It was hard to believe that Gandalf had only put them through hell knowingly because he wanted the burglar to have something to help him on the quest. He had not even done it for a noble reason! And why would he be objecting so much to destroying the most dangerous object of all times? Common sense did seem something in short supply here.

Yes, the Ring would be of vital importance if the book was right. She was only too aware of it and she guessed that this was the very reason Gandalf wasn't hell-bent on destroying it yet. The Ring would be of great use in taking back Erebor, because it would allow Bilbo to sneak in unseen and come back out alive to tell the tale. It did make sense, but it did not make her feel particularly safe to have such a dangerous artefact in the company. And surely they could find a way to take back the Mountain without the help of this powerful piece of jewellery?

She was about to say that, but the wizard side-tracked her. 'But that is not your fight, dear,' Gandalf chastised her gently. It made Kate feel like she was a young foolish girl being reprimanded by the wiser adult. But the adult wasn't wise in this case, more like the biggest fool of all, in her opinion. 'This evil will be for another generation to address.'

She had to remind herself a lot that whacking Gandalf over the head with his own staff would do her no favours in the long run. 'That is the most stupid thing I have heard in all my life,' she spat. 'And that's saying a lot.' In what universe was leaving the mess for another generation a good idea? Oh, she would not say that it had not happened before, but it remained a stupid plan all the same.

'You were not brought here to change those events,' the wizard pointed out. So, he at least was aware of the War of the Ring. Kate tried to determine if that made things better or only worse, but she had not yet decided on either when Gandalf continued: 'I don't think there is anything in that contract of yours that says anything about destroying treasure. You are here only to assist on this particular quest.'

For a moment Kate was lost for words, hardly capable of believing that the wizard was in all honesty even saying what she'd thought he had said. It sounded like a sick joke from where she was standing. And he even had the guts to drag the whole blasted contract into this.

And she lost it. The wizard was still merrily smoking the day away as if for all the world this was still nothing more serious than a conversation about the weather and not at all as if the fate of the world depended on the decisions made here. Kate's fingers had been itching to set the wizard right for a long time now and before she had even given herself permission to do it, she had taken the pipe from him and hurled it as far away from her as she could. It landed in the river, going down almost right away.

'You are _intolerable_!' Kate snapped at the wizard while he was still recovering. She turned on her heels and marched away. No matter what this man thought, they were not done talking about this.

**Thorin**

Thorin would have pressed on if he had been given the choice. The sooner they would be out of this area, the better he would feel. He had been quite convinced that the eagles had gotten rid of the wargs and orcs that were plaguing these lands, at least for a little while, but quite convinced was not entirely convinced and Thorin would much rather not take any more risks with the lives of his companions. They had been in too much danger already. He would have to keep them as safe as he possibly could from now on.

But he would admit, if only to himself, that the short rest was a relief. His chest was still aching and he was out of breath far more easily than he liked. The warg's teeth had not been able to pierce his armour, but they had caused bruising and Thorin suspected that one of two of his ribs may even be broken. But he was not going to tell that to his companions. He could deal with it and he would not delay the quest any more than strictly necessary.

So the swimming proposal had come like a gift from Mahal himself. Thorin had taken off towards a spot somewhere downstream out of sight to bathe in private and get the opportunity to determine the damage done to him without anyone else seeing it. The wounds on his arms were healing well, even if it was going to take some time for them to heal entirely. He could hide these injuries under his clothes anyway.

His torso was another matter entirely. It was a pattern of bruises and small wounds where his armour had been pressed into his flesh. Feeling his ribs had turned out to be a painful experience as well. Dwarf bones were strong, but even his bones were not made to withstand the pressure of a warg's teeth on them. Thorin was fairly sure that at least two of them were severely bruised, but broken was even more likely. He had considered asking Óin for his help, but had dismissed that idea in the same thought. The half-deaf dwarf would insist that he rested and that was one thing Thorin could just not do.

So he compromised by leaving off some of his armour, to at least have some breathing space. If anyone asked, he could always reply that there were no wargs and orcs nearby now and that it was too warm to be wearing all those layers now. He didn't think anyone would dare to question his words.

The place where they had set up a temporary camp was bustling with activity. Most dwarves were still in the river, but the ones that were not had gathered around a small campfire where Bombur was roasting some fish someone must have caught at some point. The scene looked altogether peaceful.

'That is the most stupid thing I have heard in all my life!'

Or maybe it was not that peaceful on second thought. Thorin's head swivelled in the direction from where the noise had come, his eyes meeting the sight of a very angry company advisor having some kind of argument with the wizard. The latter was leaning on his staff, smoking, as he was listening to whatever Kate was saying with an almost amused expression on his face. The fool. If Kate saw that – and there was every chance that she would – then Gandalf would probably find himself in huge trouble.

His attention went to the advisor herself. He would later think that it had not been one of his better ideas to take a gulp of water when he did that, for he nearly choked on it when he saw her. The braids had been undone, leaving her wild curls spill over her shoulders and bare arms. And that was the problem. Had that woman no sense of propriety at all? It was bad enough that she was back in those clothes from her own world, which were far too revealing for anyone's sense of propriety, but to leave her arms bare was pushing things too far.

The advisor herself did not seem to be aware of the scandal she was causing, stabbing her finger at Gandalf's chest, snarling something at him that Thorin could not understand from where he was standing. Mahal, she was also bare-footed. What kind of ridiculous world did she come from if she apparently believed this to be perfectly acceptable?

'You're _intolerable_!' Kate's voice interrupted his thoughts again. The next thing Thorin knew she had torn away the wizard's pipe, throwing it into the river with all the force she could muster. Now _that_ gave him another reason to stare at her. He already knew that woman was a force to be reckoned with when properly angered, but this was taking things a bit far.

Gandalf seemed to be in shock as well. He blinked a few times and was apparently lost for words. Kate did not notice. She turned on her heels and marched away. Originally she had been headed for the campfire, but when she spotted Thorin sitting under a tree she changed direction and marched over to him instead, letting herself fall onto the ground.

'Are you well?' Thorin inquired politely. From the expression on her face he was fairly sure that the answer to that question would be no, but he supposed that Kate knew that. It was more a way of saying that she could talk about it if she so wished. As her friend, that was something that was entirely acceptable, so very unlike the clothing she currently wore. Thorin forced himself not to watch at her arms.

Kate snorted. 'Not bloody likely,' she huffed.

Thorin merely raised an eyebrow, silently asking her to elaborate.

'I am just having an I-want-to-bang-Gandalf's-head-against-a-rock-exper ience here,' she replied. And indeed she was giving every impression of wanting to do exactly that. 'Something I am sure you can understand all too well.'

The right corner of his mouth curled up. 'I have never thrown his pipe into a deep river,' he felt obliged to point out.

Kate gave him a wry look. 'Very funny, Thorin.' She pulled up her legs and wrapped her arms around them, making it quite difficult for Thorin to not look at those. 'Anyway, he's a wizard. I am sure he can just conjure it right back up from the water. And if not…' She shrugged, wholly unconcerned. 'Well, then at least we're rid of that wretched smokescreen of his.'

Which was no doubt exactly what she had intended when she threw it into the water. He frowned as he wondered what had brought about this fit of temper. Mahal knew that it was far too easy for anyone to lose patience with the wizard, but Thorin remembered very well what had happened the night before, when she had been begging the wizard to let her go home. For all he knew this was just a continuation of that argument, even if he had almost been led to believe that Kate had resigned herself to staying with the company until the end of the quest.

It made him narrow his eyes at her. He could not trust her. Even after those words this morning he could still not trust her. And for some reason he hated that. 'And what was your encounter about, if I may ask?' Thorin heard the wariness in his own voice, but he could not care less.

And Kate was not a fool. She picked up on that right away. 'Is something the matter?' A frown had found its way to her forehead.

Thorin ignored the question. She was going to answer to him first. 'Did he refuse to send you home again?'

For a moment she just stared at him in confusion, but then the understanding dawned and the confusion effortlessly changed into annoyance. 'Don't you ever sleep when you're supposed to?'

Thorin fixed her with his sternest stare.

Kate sent him an equally stern stare back, almost as if she was the one in charge here. 'That conversation wasn't meant for your ears,' she all but snapped.

'I heard it all the same,' the dwarf king countered. He was not even sure why he was so wound up over it. He even understood her motivations to a certain extent. Yet it kept feeling like betrayal and Thorin had seen far too much of that already. It was one thing for Dáin to leave him to sort it all out on his own – and probably promptly show his face whenever there was something in it for him – but at least he was not friends with Dáin. Distant relative or no, Dáin of the Iron Hills had lost Thorin's good opinion when he decided to cower away in his hills at the mere mention of the dragon. And now Thorin would not even want him with his company anymore. He had asked for loyalty, honour and a willing heart and Dáin seemed to be in the possession of none of those three.

But Kate had become a friend. It was a strange friendship; unorthodox, quite unexpected and with more fights than Thorin had ever had with other friends, but it was a friendship all the same. Yet she had been trying to leave. She would have done so if Gandalf had only let her. And that had made Thorin realise that Kate did not care for loyalty. She hardly had any. And Thorin could not for the life of him figure out why that hurt so badly.

Kate sighed. 'So I have noticed.' She must have caught his glower, because she added: 'No, it was not about that this time. It was something about the story actually. And we disagreed. Again.'

'Why did you try to leave?' He had been meaning to ask what the "disagreement" had been about and he was a little surprised to hear what had actually come out. It unnerved him. Why _did_ he feel so strongly about this?

'Would you not were you in my shoes?' she countered. 'I miss home, I miss my family.' She held on to her legs so tightly her knuckles turned white. 'They might even believe me dead by now. And I am not even capable of letting them know that I am still alive.' The anger had turned to distress in a matter of seconds. 'What if…' She hesitated for a second. 'What if I return and there is nothing for me to go back to because they already believe me gone?' It came out in a whisper.

That was what this was all about, wasn't it? Thorin could tell that she had not intended to share this with him and he did not know why she had. And he could not really understand her fear, but he could tell that it was genuine. He also had no idea how to deal with it, so he decided to steer the topic away from what appeared to be so painful for her. He did still not condone her actions, but arguing about it would neither of them do any good. 'What made you throw the wizard's pipe into the river?' he inquired.

Kate seemed to sense that this was some kind of peace offering and she took it. 'Gandalf decided on a course of action that I disagree with,' she replied. The hands became fists again. 'Remember that you said that Gandalf had never acted on his knowledge of the book?'

Thorin had just been about to ask which course of action it was that Gandalf had decided upon and, more importantly, why he had not in the least been aware of such a decision, but Kate's question side-tracked him. Because he did remember thinking and saying that. The wizard acted like he was totally ignorant of the book and its contents, while both Thorin and Kate were sure that he did know. Why Gandalf had not acted on that, instead opting on leaving that to Kate, that had been one of the biggest mysteries of the quest so far. It was also frustrating to no end, one of the few things king and advisor actually agreed upon.

'Are you saying that he has?' he demanded.

Kate grimaced. 'In his very own unique way, yes,' she replied. She gave every appearance of not being pleased with the wizard's scheming and Thorin would bet all the gold in Erebor that he probably wouldn't be too by the end of this conversation. 'I think that Gandalf has been trying to make sure that everything goes exactly by the book so far.' A glower was sent in the wizard's direction. 'And his behaviour just now confirmed it.'

That at least succeeded in confusing Thorin. 'If that is the truth, then why are you here?'

Kate laughed humourlessly. 'Do tell me the moment you find out, will you? Right now I haven't got a clue.'

It still did not make sense in the dwarf king's head. What game was Gandalf playing? 'What has he done?' he inquired.

The advisor thought about that question for some time before she responded. 'Well, I think I started to suspect he was up to something when he kept insisting we go to Rivendell, even when there was no real need because we already had the map's message in print in my book.'

Thorin nodded. He remembered that all too well and he would even agree with the advisor that this behaviour was indeed strange. Thorin had eventually decided on blaming it all on Gandalf's friendship with the elves, because at the time that had seemed the only reasonable explanation. And in the end they had of course not been left with much of an option.

She had seen the grimace. 'That's what I thought.' Her face looked positively murderous and it was not directed at Thorin for a change. 'Then there was that whole matter of us wanting to take a different route through the mountains. I think we would have done it had Gandalf not told us it was impossible. Then there was that bloody disappearing act he did when the goblins captured us. I think Gandalf wanted us to meet the goblins.'

Thorin had to remind himself it would be very unkingly of him to let his jaw drop, because what Kate had just said surely made him want to do that. She could not be in earnest about this, could she? That kind of behaviour would be bordering on treason. 'That cannot be.' It was more of a wish than a denial and he knew it.

'Can't it?' Kate growled. 'Well, if it's any consolation, he didn't specifically want us to meet the Great Goblin. He just wanted Bilbo to meet Gollum and get something from him, as described in the book.' The advisor picked up a small pebble from the ground and hurled it into the river in anger.

As much as Thorin did not wish to believe this, he would have to admit that it sounded like something Gandalf would do. The dwarf had always known that the wizard used people as pawns in a game that was much bigger than any of them could ever hope to understand. Even his help on this quest had not been without ulterior motives and Thorin knew enough of the world that people seldom did things out of the goodness of their heart, especially since good hearts seemed to be in short supply in Middle Earth. Gandalf's concern was Smaug. He feared that the fire-breathing monstrosity would be used for evil ends if he remained alive. That he had taken up residence in Erebor was of no concern to him and Thorin knew that. They were allies and nothing more.

But this was taking things too far, even for Gandalf. He may be using people as pawns, but his intentions were good and he would go to great lengths for those he had allied himself with. Thorin just found it hard to believe that Gandalf would leave them at the mercy of goblins only to make something else happen. It was hard to believe, but not impossible. And Kate had said that the grey wizard had as good as confirmed her suspicions…

'What did Mr Baggins obtain?' he asked. He had listened to the halfling's tale, but never had the hobbit mentioned any object he may have gotten from the strange creature he had encountered under the mountains.

'A magical Ring that has the power to grant invisibility to its bearer.' For some reason this made Kate's frown deepen.

Thorin would have rejoiced at the notion, had she not looked so serious. Because such a Ring would be invaluable to the quest, especially since Mr Baggins was the burglar and Mahal knew he would need all the help he could get, because so far his burgling had not been very impressive. True, he had gotten past the goblins, but they had not expected him there and it had been dark then as well. To sneak past a dragon would require a good deal more skill than the halfling had demonstrated so far.

'Why do you think that it is bad for Mr Baggins to have such an artefact?' he wondered.

Kate bit her lip, clearly debating with herself if she should answer that question. 'You know what, why don't you just read the book and ask me again when you've done that?' she proposed, giving every appearance of wanting to escape the question. And apparently she was trying to escape him too while she was at it. She had already gotten to her feet.

But Thorin was no fool. He could tell that there was something she was hiding from him and there was every chance that was something he would not like in the slightest. And he had more than enough of the secrecy with that blasted wizard already. He was on his feet before the advisor even had the chance to turn away – even though his ribs protested against the abuse he forced on them – and grabbed her wrist to prevent her from moving, fixing her with as stern a glare as he could conjure up. 'You are keeping secrets,' he accused her.

The glower she sent his way reminded him of the ones she used to send him before they had agreed to be friends. 'Let go of me,' she snarled.

Thorin did no such thing. He would have answers first. And he would never admit this to anyone but himself – and even then it was reluctantly – but he feared the reply. Kate's behaviour during Azog's attack and the direct aftermath of that battle had made him believe that he had indeed gained a true friend, but her actions on the Great Shelf and just now made him fear that his new friend really was not that much of a friend after all. What kind of friend tried to leave and lie?

'I'm not keeping any bloody secrets from you,' Kate hissed when she realised he was not listening to her. 'This conversation would just be so much easier if we both knew what this is all about and for that, you need to read the book.'

'After which you can conveniently run off to your own world.' His voice was ice-cold. Because that had been her plan, hadn't it? As soon as she had made him read the book, she would abandon the company in spite of the contract she had signed and the friends and family she had here. The woman had no loyalty and he should be glad to be rid of her, yet that was not what he felt. It confused him as much as it angered him.

Kate tried to wriggle free, but it was no use. 'No, I won't!' she snapped. 'I told you I'd help you take Erebor back, did I not?' Thorin had not forgotten that, but he also knew he could never take her word for anything again. 'For goodness sake, do you think I would have angered Gandalf that much if I was really anxious to get home?' The well-known fire was blazing in her eyes once again. 'Just in case it escaped your royal notice, me hurling his pipe into the river probably is not that good for my chances to get home again, ever. I'm staying with this quest until it is done. And now will you kindly let go of my arm? You're hurting me!'

The argument about Gandalf hit home. That had indeed not been a wise move for someone so dependent on the wizard's good graces to return to her own world again. It might mean that the advisor had indeed made her decision. But maybe was not good enough for Thorin. He needed certainties. He needed to know he could rely on each and every member of his company, including the advisor. 'Would you swear to that?'

Kate's eyes widened a bit, in surprise he suspected, but she did not look away. The fire was still there. 'Whatever you want,' she snapped. 'Will you release me if I do?'

He gave a curt nod of the head, waiting for the promise.

Kate took a deep breath. The fire in her eyes had died down somewhat, but had not faded entirely. 'I have no idea how you guys do this,' she warned him. She even sounded a little uncertain now. 'So, here goes: I, Catherine Sarah Andrews, do hereby solemnly swear to remain loyal to the company of Thorin Oakenshield. I promise to fulfil the terms as mentioned in the contract and advise Thorin Oakenshield, leader of his company, to the best of my abilities. I swear that this quest is also my quest from now on until the day the task has been completed.' She frowned. 'Would that be sufficient?'

It was more than Thorin had even asked for. And yes, her vows may be different from the way Thorin would have sworn, but they were sincere and as binding as an oath he would have sworn himself. 'It is sufficient,' he confirmed.

'Great. Can you finally let go now?' She gave a pointed look at the hand that was still holding her wrist in a death grip.

'Not yet,' he replied.

The fire was smouldering. 'Why the hell not?' Kate demanded. 'I made the oath, did I not?'

'Aye,' he agreed. 'I said your vow was sufficient. I did not say that we were done.' He found himself staring at an utterly confused advisor and realised too late that vows in her world might be different from how they were in Middle Earth. 'Is it not the custom for both parties to make oaths?' he inquired, silently cursing the customs of Kate's world. What cruel world hers must be if only one person would take oaths, while the other party took no responsibility at all! He could not for the life of him even understand why she was so desperate to return there anyway.

Her forehead wrinkled. 'You're supposed to say something as well?'

Thorin nodded again. 'That is customary.'

Kate shrugged. 'Go right ahead then,' she said. 'As long as you're not about to go and declare your undying love or something equally stupid. And as long as you at least loosen your hold on my arm,' she added. 'Good grief, man, are you trying to squeeze me into jelly?' The last was said in irritation.

He did as she asked, biting back the chuckle that was threatening to boil over at the ridiculous notion of him declaring his undying love. She would not see the day that such a thing ever happened. But he let it pass, getting on with what needed to be done. 'I, Thorin, son of Thráin, so of Thrór, make this vow before Mahal: to protect and shield Catherine Sarah Andrews, to listen to the advice she shall give and to…'

'Not squeeze her arm into jelly ever again,' Kate finished in a teasing voice, even though she did for some reason seem uncomfortable with this all.

'And to see to it that she will regain her own home once this quest is finished,' he finished, trying to keep the corners of his mouth from curling up. Could they not even exchange oaths in a normal fashion?

'Which is a polite way of saying you'll do whatever it takes to get rid of me as soon as you can,' Kate remarked, but the tone wasn't biting any longer. This was the bantering like they had done in Rivendell. 'Can you please let go now? I swear this is going to bruise if you don't.'

Thorin let go. He realised he may have been a bit too harsh when he saw the mark his hand had left. Dori had better not see this or he would not live another day. In that respect it certainly was rather annoying that the advisor had managed to obtain some older brothers, and _protective_ older brothers at that. 'We'll move out within the quarter of an hour,' he informed her. Most of the company were out of the water now anyway and they needed to leave again if they wanted to meet this mysterious friend of Gandalf before the end of the day. 'I suggest you gather your belongings and prepare to leave.' His gaze fell on her still bare arms. 'And cover yourself up,' he added as an afterthought.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _No way I am going to do that. The dwarves may all be perfectly content to get cooked in their own clothes, but I am not. Stupid dwarves with their ridiculous sense of propriety!_

* * *

**Believe it or not, Gandalf does actually know what he is doing. For my inspiration for him to reply as he did, see How The Hobbit Should Have Ended on Youtube. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Leave me a review to let me know what you thought please?**


	30. Chapter 30 Verbal Sparring

**Chapter 30**

**Verbal Sparring**

_I could see Thorin give me a very pointed look when he realised I had no intention of putting on something with long sleeves, which I equally pointedly ignored. I would already start feeling criminally overheated if I so much as looked in his direction with all the layers he had put on. Good grief, he even wore his fur-lined coat. It took me all I had not to declare him a lunatic, out loud. Not that my companions were blessed with any more common sense. From looking at them one would say they were expecting frost and snow storms instead of a warm summer afternoon. Of all of them Bilbo was the only one who had taken off his coat, but that could have something to do with the fact that it was still wet from washing as well._

_But the general mood was good. Bofur had launched into some story and I hung back to listen to it. Okay, that was not the entire reason. The more honest reply would be that I stuck with Bofur because he was at the rear of the column, which meant that he was farthest away from Gandalf, who had taken it upon himself to lead the company in the right direction. He was still very displeased with my actions, especially since his pipe seemed to have gone missing entirely. I do not know what has happened to it, but if this would be some children's story, then I'd say it floated down the Anduin and was eventually picked up by some old man who had just lost his old pipe and had prayed for a new one, after which Gandalf's pipe came floating right into his hands. And the old man lived happily ever after. The end. And now the little children should really go to bed._

_No, in all honesty we did not know what had become of the pipe and I could not really care either. I just took care to keep some distance between me and a certain vexed wizard as we made our way to Beorn's house…_

**Thorin**

It was a little cooler under the trees and for this Thorin was grateful. He would bet that Kate was feeling quite a lot better now, even if her clothing was still wholly inappropriate. As he had half expected, she laughed in his face when he told her to get dressed more appropriately, telling him not to be ridiculous. Thorin had fixed her with his sternest stare, reminding her that he was in fact the leader of this company and that she had to do as he told her to. He had been rewarded for this speech with an 'I swore to assist you, not to obey you, so you can stick that order where the sun doesn't shine' for his troubles. And honestly, it wasn't worth getting into a fight over, not really.

And it was rather funny to see the rest of the company deal with the advisor's strange dressing habits. Or maybe failing to deal with said habits was a more accurate way of describing the situation. Mr Baggins didn't seem to mind at all. He was walking close to Gandalf, pestering the wizard with questions about subjects that Thorin himself did not believe to be relevant at all. Dwalin and Fíli seemed very embarrassed and were trying not to look in Kate's direction. Dori and Nori were disapproving. The former was trying to get Kate to at least put on something over the flimsy garment she called a T-shirt. His attempts had been unsuccessful thus far, something Thorin could have told him in advance. The advisor wasn't prone to listen to people who told her she had to behave in certain ways. If anything, he might have strengthened her resolve not to change.

Most of the others tried to ignore it, even if it was obvious they did not like what she did. Kate ignored them as well, so he didn't think she was very impressed with it all. Kíli and Ori on the other hand had taken Kate's actions as a good example. The first was rolling up his sleeves up to his elbows and had stuck his coat in his pack. Ori was attempting to do the same, but Dori's disapproving look combined with some stern words made him change his mind, even if he still looked longingly at his adopted sister's attire.

'Quite a change she's brought about,' Balin remarked casually as he saw what his friend was looking at. 'Even when our companions disagree on whether this is a good or a bad change.' The elderly dwarf's eyes twinkled happily, reminding Thorin somewhat of a Gandalf set on making mischief.

Dwalin, who was walking on Thorin's other side, grimaced. 'The lass has no sense of propriety at all.'

'She has a different sense of propriety, brother,' Balin corrected. He seemed amused by the whole clothing business. Maybe he was just too old to be shocked, Thorin reflected. Sometimes Balin could be the kind grandfather type who just watched the younger generation's antics. 'She is from a different world, after all. Very fascinating stories she can tell sometimes.'

Thorin remembered Kate walking with Balin and Ori a lot while Ori pestered her with questions and Balin listened to the answers. It was an arrangement that seemed to work for them and all three of them appeared to enjoy it as well. Consequently Thorin thought that both the scribe and the old warrior had learned a good deal more about the advisor's world than he had.

Dwalin responded with a disapproving noise in the back of his throat. 'She'd best learn to adept to our habits for as long as she's here.'

But that was wishful thinking, Thorin knew. Kate was a rebel, never doing what was expected of her, especially not when she believed the order to be all kinds of ridiculous. She was a child of her world, living by its rules. Her stubbornness about not going by the rules of the society she had joined – even if only temporarily – was as frustrating as it was amusing.

'Try telling her that,' he muttered. 'She will not listen to you.'

Balin's smile told him all he needed to know. 'Tried that already, laddie?'

'Of course I did.' Amusing or not, the fact remained that this was inappropriate. And he was sure that there was no society in Middle Earth that would believe otherwise.

'It was very interesting to see you talk with her,' the old dwarf went on, speaking in an relaxed manner, as if he was just discussing the weather. But Thorin had known him for a long time. There had to be more here.

'Balin…' he warned the other.

'I was merely stating that it was good to see the two of you act like friends,' Balin explained smoothly.

Thorin almost choked on the thought. Because there had been a lot going on back at the river, but friendship was not one of those things. The dwarf king still was not entirely sure about the oaths that had been made there. He was sure of his own and he meant it, but Kate's was still somewhat of a mystery to him. At least he had did not doubt her staying with the quest any longer. An oath was an oath, no matter which world one came from.

_I swear that this quest is also my quest from now on until the day the task has been completed_. That was the sentence that made him wonder. It would have been enough to simply promise to do as her contract stated, to advise and to remain loyal. There had been no need to make this quest her own, as she had done. With that she had made herself one of them, even if she was probably not entirely aware of that herself. And Thorin was not sure what she would think of it when she did find out. Kate Andrews did not seem the type to want to become part of a world she did not originate from. Yet the fact remained that she had done so, tied her life to the quest as tightly as she could. Not even most of the others had sworn to remain with the quest as she had just done, but admittedly Thorin had not asked an oath of them for fear they would turn their back on him as Dáin had done.

'You're deep in thought, lad,' Balin observed, bringing Thorin back to the here and now.

'There is much to think about,' he replied.

And there was. There was so much to worry about. And not just about Kate and her promises. There was the matter of where they were going as well. The longer they travelled, the more anxious Thorin became, the more frustrated. So far he had been unable to keep his company out of danger. When he had set out on this quest, he had believed that the worst would be when they had to fight the dragon. Never once had he been able to predict that the journey there would be just as hard. And they were hardly halfway there.

When he looked at his men now he saw that they were cheerful and almost unconcerned. Their supplies were running low and half of them were sporting injuries, but they trusted Thorin to lead them out of trouble and therefore they did not worry. It felt like a vote of confidence that they had so much faith in him. At the same time though, it felt like he was carrying the weight of the world upon his shoulders. They depended on him, yet he had failed them time and again. Why did they even still follow him? Why had none of them turned back? So far he had only led them from one crisis to the next and he had not even been the one to help them out, never once. But his companions did not even seem to be aware of that, yet his failing weighed heavy on his mind. For the first time ever, he felt old.

'It's no good blaming yourself, Thorin.' Balin seemed to have read his mind. How he always knew what was going on in Thorin's head was a mystery, but it could be a blessing.

'They should not trust me as they do.' The two sons of Fundin were the only ones he could ever share his deepest concerns with and they were far enough away from the others to not be overheard. He would not show anyone else his doubts. It would only serve to undermine their faith in him.

'You're still our leader and our king, lad,' Balin reminded him. 'We'd follow you to the ends of the earth. None of us would do so for Gandalf.'

That should have been a reassurance, but as it was, it only added to the load he was already carrying around. He had already come to the conclusion that it was him they were following and not the wizard. It did nothing however to make this any easier to deal with. The others were all joking around now, laughing, drawing energy from each other's company. In a way Dwalin and Balin were a comfort to him, his closest friends, the ones he could confide in. But when it came down to it, they would not dream of joking with him as they would do with other members of the company. He would always remain the king to them, who they respected. Strangely enough, so far it had only been Kate who had the courage to exchange banter and witticisms with him, but maybe that was just because she didn't know that such things were not expected of her. It could also mean that she would keep on doing it just to try and provoke him.

Dwalin was about to say something, but all of them were distracted by Mr Baggins's latest question at Gandalf, who had asked the wizard about who this person was that Gandalf was taking them to. Said wizard had halted, rounding on Bilbo to quite possibly demand of him that he would stop asking questions he clearly did not want to answer.

'His name is Beorn,' a voice suddenly spoke up. Thorin turned around and realised that the entire group had come to a halt now, grouping around, curious to know who it was that they were taken to. Kate was still standing next to Bofur, still looking a bit wary in Gandalf's direction, but she was also smirking a little. 'He's a skin-changer, according to the book.' The smirk widened a little, making Thorin suspect that she was deliberately vexing the tallest member of the company by blurting out pieces of information that said member was loath to give.

'Yes, Miss Andrews, that he is indeed.' The tone was made to match the angry scowl he unleashed on the advisor.

'What?' Bilbo exclaimed. 'You mean he is a furrier, a man that calls rabbits conies, when he doesn't turn their skin into squirrels?'

Gandalf's face was priceless and Thorin had to work his hardest not to show his amusement. Instead he focused on the words themselves and they made him wonder what in Durin's name the wizard had thought up this time. He should have known that nothing good could ever come from deciding to let him have his way again. So far he had only demonstrated a very poor taste in friends and if he had heard correctly, Gandalf did not even know this Beorn personally. If he'd had any choice in the matter, he'd have avoided this skin-changer altogether.

But there wasn't exactly a choice. Their supplies were running low and some members of the company would need to rest to allow their wounds to heal before they moved on. Balin was putting on a brave face, but Thorin had seen his oldest friend grimace in pain from time to time whenever he thought no one was watching. Bofur was still limping as well. He too had not been heard complaining. The cheerful dwarf had simply taken a broken branch as a stick and used that for support. Glóin had gotten himself injured in their latest fight, as well as Dori and Bifur. None of their injuries were very serious, but they would need tending to. A place to rest without having the looming threat of Azog, orcs, wargs or goblins to worry about would be very welcome, as would the chance to restock their supplies be. He had to rely on the wizard once again, as much as he hated it.

Gandalf himself was not exactly amused. He was staring at the hobbit with an exasperated look. 'Good gracious heavens, no, no, no, no!' he exclaimed. 'Don't be a fool, Mr Baggins, if you can help it!'

'He can't,' came Dwalin's muttered response from somewhere close to Thorin's left ear.

Gandalf continued as if he had not spoken at all. 'In the name of all wonder do _not_ mention the word furrier again as long as you are within a hundred miles of his house, or rug, cape, tippet, muff, nor any other such unfortunate word!' Thorin felt the need to point out that they probably were a whole lot closer to the skin-changer's home than hundred miles off and Gandalf was just shouting his displeasure at the top of his lungs. And Kate had gone into what looked like a coughing fit, as had Kíli. There was not much natural about that.

The advisor caught him looking at his nephew and her and sent him a grin in reply. Thorin could feel the corners of his mouth curling up. The wizard may have forgotten about their close proximity to this Beorn's house, the company surely had not.

Bilbo looked utterly confused right now. 'So, he is _not_ a furrier?'

Gandalf looked temporarily lost for words. 'Skin-changer means that he is able to change his skin, Bilbo,' Kate said. She sounded very much amused. 'He can change himself into a big black bear and that's why he's called a skin-changer. Isn't that right, Gandalf?' The tone was pleasant enough, as was the smile that went with it, but the advisor's eyes were still looking daggers at the wizard and there was an underlying tone of ice-cold anger to her voice that Thorin did not think would have passed anyone's notice. Kate was still very angry with the grey wizard. And if she was indeed right about his manipulating, then Thorin knew she was justified in it.

But Gandalf could not reasonably deny the advisor's words, much as he seemed to hate the fact that she was right. 'That is very right, Miss Andrews. And he is also a man who angers easily, so you would do best to keep that sharp tongue of yours in check around him!'

Thorin was not sure if that had been meant as a threat, but Kate's brothers sure treated it like one. Dori and Ori glared at him and Nori's hand was hovering rather close to his weapon, fully prepared to use it should the need arise. Thorin himself did not feel comfortable with this situation either. What had started out as two people who simply did not like one another, had turned into a strong dislike, bordering on hate. From Kate's part at least. Gandalf did not seem capable of such angry emotions. He was only annoyed, albeit very strongly so. And this was simply not the way one treated a woman. It was unheard of.

As it turned out, however, the advisor was more than capable of fighting her own battles. 'Said the pot to the kettle,' she countered easily. She even managed to make it sound like a harmless joke, even if the fiery look in her eyes belied the light tone of her voice. 'So do us all a favour and mend your own ways before you start to think about correcting others. Your own behaviour isn't exactly a shiny example now, is it?'

This was quickly turning in a battle of words, something Thorin was rather familiar with since he happened to be one of the participants most of the time. The longer this dragged on, the more it began to look like one of his own fights with the advisor, although he had the good sense to fight his battles a good distance away from the rest of the group. And the strangest thing about this was perhaps that he was on Kate's side in this. He had his fair share of the wizard's scheming and the fact that Gandalf never laid all his cards on the table and behaved as if he was the leader of this company, it kept getting on Thorin's nerves worse and worse with every passing day. And as it happened, it would seem that his advisor was getting fed up with it as well. It would seem that where the wizard was concerned they kept being on the same side.

Gandalf's eyebrows were knitted together in an angry look. Last time Thorin had seen that look he had turned an entire room dark, his booming voice telling him that if he said Bilbo Baggins was a burglar, then he was one. Strangely enough he did not react to Kate's words, quite possibly because he could not honestly deny the truth in them, Thorin thought. 'Because our host is not very fond of strangers, I think I will introduce you in pairs,' he continued, pointedly ignoring Kate who muttered something that sounded remarkably like 'You would not have thought of that if the bloody book had not told you so.' Thorin tried to bite back a chuckle. It would not do now to make things even worse than they no doubt already were. 'And we will need someone who doesn't look as… threatening as you all do, so Miss Andrews and I shall go first and…'

'No.' Thorin swivelled his head in the direction of the three brothers Ri, realising that he had the same reaction to this proposal as they had. The four of them had spoken simultaneously. Apparently none of them was too thrilled about letting Kate anywhere near the wizard right now. The way those two were behaving it was hardly unlikely if Gandalf lost his temper and, as Kate used to phrase it, blasted her into the middle of next week. And he had made a promise to protect her and Thorin supposed that included protecting her from so-called friendly fire as well.

Kate seemed to sense what was going on and she took the time to send them all a very displeased look. 'Look, guys, I appreciate the sentiment, but I am actually capable of telling Gandalf so myself, you know.'

Thorin knew that. As long as there were words involved Kate would stand her ground. He had pity on the one who though he could beat her in a fight with words. But she had yet to learn that her words would not always be enough to keep her out of trouble. She was in a word were most conflicts were decided by the sword and she was hopeless with those.

Gandalf ignored them all. 'We'll need someone who doesn't look threatening,' he reminded them. In which case he had better not take Kate with him, Thorin observed wryly. The advisor was looking positively murderous right now.

'It won't happen, wizard,' Thorin informed him. 'You can take Mr Baggins first if you want someone who looks harmless.' And the hobbit would be in no danger at all, since Gandalf appeared to be rather fond of him. He had been meaning to suggest Ori as well, but refrained from that when he imagined the possible reactions of his brothers to that. And he had vexed Dori and Nori quite enough by bruising Kate's arm with his firm grip. He had seen Dori look at the bruising and then at him, telling him with one glance that they were not yet done talking about this.

Gandalf appeared to be rather unhappy with the way things were going, but he at least recognised an order when he heard it. Not that he often made a point of listening to commands – for all Thorin knew he had so far ignored every order he had ever heard – but he did realise that it would be most unwise to go up against four dwarves and one glaring human woman whose temper was as fiery as her hair colour. 'Very well,' he gave in. 'Mr Baggins and I shall go first and the rest of you will follow on my whistle and then with five minutes in between each pair.'

Thorin wondered if it would be any use protesting this notion, but he had at least gained something of a victory, so he decided to let the wizard at least have his way for once. That should pacify him some.

**Kate**

Kate was trying to decide whether she should be feeling touched or furious. Normally she would have been beyond mad if someone – let alone four someones – was trying to fight her battles for her, especially when she knew she was perfectly capable of doing so herself. But there was a treacherous part of her that was touched, that had felt honoured when four people had stood up for her the moment they suspected she might be in some form of danger. She wasn't used to that. Jacko had done it a few times, but she had verbally torn him apart for doing so and he had refrained from doing it again. But these four had ignored her previous warnings not to fight for her and did it again, in spite of her wishes. It should have made her livid, yet it had the opposite effect. _There must be something very wrong with me_.

In the end Gandalf had given in – that had to be a first – and they had continued on their way. Kate had hung back with Ori and Balin, as they had done whenever they had the chance, while her new brother had pestered her with questions about her world. Today's topic – how very predictable – was clothing. The advisor was well aware that her choice of clothes had caused something of a disturbance among her companions. But she was also determined not to let this bother her. She belonged to that world and now that she could no longer go back to it, it felt somehow reassuring to wear the clothes that had come from there with her to this place. It was a little piece of home in a world that was otherwise completely alien to her.

'So, the women in your world are allowed to wear clothes like yours?' Ori was visibly dying to write down everything he had learned so far, but there was no chance of that while they were still walking.

'I'm not sure allowing comes into it, Ori.' No matter what he asked, Kate found herself incapable of getting cross with him. 'We just do it.'

The young scribe nodded, filing this piece of information away. 'And no one thinks it's not appropriate?'

Kate shook her head. 'Why would they when everybody does it?' she asked. 'And you know what? What I am wearing is actually pretty modest for such warm weather. Most of the women at home would now be wearing knee-length skirts to go with the T-shirt.' And most of them would wear even less, but it would probably be best to keep that to herself for now. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy shocking her companions from time to time – because if she was really honest she enjoyed a little too much – but there was no need to exaggerate it.

And this was probably already more information than some of them could handle. Dwalin and Thorin, who had taken to walking close to them to get away from a still very annoyed Gandalf, made sounds like they were choking. 'You cannot mean that, lass!' Dwalin turned around to look at her.

Kate suspected her smile may be downright devilish by now. 'And what if I say that I do?'

He shook his head, probably trying to lose the idea with the movements. 'Your world sounds hardly appealing,' he grumbled. 'Why would you even want to go back there?'

From their perspective her world must be hell, Kate supposed, even when she would just call it different. And Kate would be the last person to claim that it was perfect. But then, neither was Middle Earth. 'The same reason why you lot are going up against a dragon,' she replied eventually. 'Because it's home.' Realising just how cheesy and cliché this sounded, she added: 'And, believe it or not, I actually quite like it there. At least I'm allowed to go around in the clothes of my own choosing without getting remarks and embarrassed looks left, right and centre.'

Dwalin at least had the decency to look somewhat ashamed, or as ashamed as he was capable of. Thorin was visibly uncomfortable. He walked on with big steps, pointedly avoiding looking back. Fortunately for him he had distraction near at hand, because Gandalf had halted again. Kate suspected she knew why. They has passed the edge of Beorn's bee-pastures some time ago – and Kate had tried her hardest not to think about the possibility of them stinging her. After all she had faced a huge orc that wanted her head, she would not run away from mere bees – so they had to be getting close to their destination by now.

'We're very near his house now,' the wizard announced rather unnecessarily. 'So you had better wait here while Mr Baggins and I go ahead. The rest of you will follow on my whistle, but only in pairs, mind, and about five minutes between each pair of you.' The way he spoke he reminded Kate of a school teacher in charge of a class of particularly naughty and stupid kids. And that was leaving the fact that he was, once again, using book lines out of consideration. Sometimes she really thought he was just showing off his knowledge of the book, although she could not think of one good reason why he would do that. Or maybe those lines had been written for him, she observed. After all, they did sound very much like something the wizard would say.

But whichever way you looked at it, it was still annoying. 'We did hear you the first time around, you know,' she said irritably. 'We're not suffering from amnesia and neither are we deaf.' She would have thrown in an 'And maybe you could just go, seeing as we would like to arrive before Christmas' but decided that would be pushing her luck a bit too far. She was more or less surprised Gandalf had not blasted her into the middle of next week already and she would not give him a good excuse to do so if she could help it.

Thorin's mouth curled up a little. He wasn't prone to smile, or even be amused as far as she knew, but he did seem a little more relaxed after their escape from the goblins. In his own mysterious way he seemed to ease up a bit, even if she would be very careful to never phrase it like that whenever he – or anyone for that matter – could hear it.

Something had changed after they had made those oaths, although Kate could not quite put her finger on whatever that something was. All that reasonably could be said about it was that it was a pleasant change. Thorin seemed more willing to listen to her. He had not called her out when she had confronted Gandalf just now. Of course this was logical, because he hated the wizard's scheming as much as she did, but before there had always been hints of disapproval as well, probably because he believed this to be his job. Now he seemed more amused than anything else.

Gandalf just ignored Kate. He beckoned Bilbo to follow him and the two of them disappeared down the road, leaving the rest of the company to figure out in which order they would follow him. Of course, trying to get dwarves to agree about something, _anything_ at all, was a mission impossible, so Kate hung back and waited.

'Enough!' Thorin bellowed after a minute or five, probably loud enough to alarm Beorn himself. 'This will not get us anywhere. Kate, what does your book say?'

Kate blinked a few times. Even though Thorin had asked for her knowledge on the story a few times now, it kept taking her by surprise whenever he did. And this was not even a crisis. This was a stupid argument about who would go first. 'You mean in which order do we arrive in the book?' She could hardly believe that this was even happening, in front of all the others too.

The response was a curt nod.

'I'll need to check,' she said, digging up the novel from the bag, fully aware that the rest of the company had not yet known that she had the book with her all along.

'You got that book with you?' Dwalin sounded both incredulous and angry. He may have promised not to bother her like he had before, but obviously this did not mean that he was suddenly in favour of her being with the company, advising them.

'Well spotted, Einstein,' she muttered, avoiding to meet his eyes. 'Okay, so here goes: Thorin and Dori go first.' She kept her eyes on the page in order not to look up. She wasn't sure she wanted to see her companions' faces. 'Nori and Ori come next and then Balin and Dwalin.' She skipped a bit. 'According to the book Fíli and Kíli follow them, and then Óin and Glóin.'

'What is she saying?' the company healer demanded, pressing his very damaged ear trumpet to his ear. 'Speak louder, lass. I can't hear you.'

'That's because you're deaf!' Kate retorted. She was glad he did not seem to have understood what she was saying, bending over the book to hide her smile. 'Bifur and Bofur come after them and then there's only Bombur left.' She shrugged. 'Will that help in making a decision?'

The group was silent and she felt all their eyes on her. It made her feel uncomfortable, reminding her of exactly why she had wanted to escape their company in the first place. She could not handle this, not really.

'Where are you then?' Dori demanded, breaking the silence Kate could have sworn lasted an eternity.

Kate frowned at him. She thought he'd known. 'I am not in the book.'

That seemed to come as a surprise to some of them, even when she was positive she had made mention of this little fact before now. For some reason it must have slipped their minds. She could not blame them if that was the case; there had been so much that had occurred since that fateful conversation – or maybe a shouting match was a more apt description – that it almost felt like another life altogether.

'You're not in the book?' The disbelieving voice that asked this question belonged to Kíli. 'Why not?'

Kate conjured up a wry half-smile. 'Well, I'd wager because the author did not know I existed. And because he was only writing a children's book. He had no idea he was writing about something that was actually going to happen. And I think because I might not even supposed to be here.' She shrugged. 'I wouldn't have been had Gandalf not decided to interfere.'

She still strongly disliked the wizard for that deed, even if a small treacherous part of her was grateful for it. Had she not come here she would never have met these guys and she would be lying through her teeth if she said she wished she had never known them. Because she liked their company, most of them at least. She would not have wanted to miss out on that either.

Kíli had done the maths in the time she had been pondering that and his entire face lit up in a dazzling smile. 'You can change things.'

There it was again, the hope and expectation, reminding Kate of why she had wanted to leave so soon in the first place. It was like a suffocating weight pressing her down, making it hard to breathe. No wonder Thorin was so moody so often. Anyone with so much responsibility had to be. How did people even live like this?

'Gandalf hopes so.' She was uncomfortably aware of how curt and formal she sounded. 'And I'll do my best to live up to those expectations.' She had sworn to do so only a few hours ago, but the weight on her shoulders intensified in tenfold as she spoke the words. Anxious as she was to change the topic of this conversation, which had, she realised, gone a long way from the matter of who would be paired up with whom for the last walk to Beorn's house – of all things to bicker about. 'So, I'll walk with Bombur, I suppose,' she said. 'You don't mind, do you, Bombur?' She had really come to like the fat dwarf. He was a gentle soul and Kate realised she had come to appreciate his company. His concerns were of a simple nature and with all the complex business she got herself involved with lately, simplicity was a welcome thing to the company advisor.

Bombur had already started to voice his consent, when Balin protested. 'Ah, but you're the company advisor, lass. We can't have you arriving last.'

Kate shrugged. 'What our host doesn't know won't hurt him either. It's perfectly all right, Balin.' And she did not trust that elderly dwarf that much anymore, not where it came to matters such as these. Gandalf may not waste his time trying to match people, but Balin had clearly no reservations about meddling in people's personal lives. And for some reason she had the idea that Balin had been rather warming to the elves' ridiculous assumption that Thorin and Kate were romantically involved, although why was entirely beyond her. And she was convinced that he was about to suggest that as official advisor she should walk with Thorin rather than with someone like Bombur, who, although kind, was not a truly important person among the dwarves.

She was proven right in that assumption the very next second when Balin proposed exactly that, gaining him confirming nods from the rest of the company, annoying Kate to no end. It was a small consolation to know that they at least had no ulterior motives for sending her with Thorin. They truly believed she should go with him and be one of the first ones to be introduced because she was the company's official advisor. Small consolation indeed, but it did remind her of the responsibility she had taken on once again – not that she had been in danger of forgetting in the first place.

Well, she had forgotten about it when she swore that oath. When she had done that she had only wanted Thorin to let go of her arm before it started to bruise. And if that meant that she had to make some kind of vow to remain with the company, a matter which she had no choice in anyway, then that was what she would do. Kate only realised that this meant more to Thorin than it did to her when he made an oath to her in return. She had become somewhat uncomfortable then, almost regretting agreeing to this in the first place. It was only then that she realised that she now took on a responsibility she might not have wanted to take in the first place.

But the time for choosing was over now. She had made a choice, even if she may not have thought all that much about the consequences when she made it. And there would be no going back from this now, so she would stick with it. Thorin had asked for loyalty, and it would seem that was what he would get, even when it had not been given willingly.

'Whatever you want,' she muttered.

Thorin did not look all that enthusiastic, and for some reason neither did Dori and Nori, but Gandalf's whistle prevented them from getting into an another pointless argument again. That made it come right in time in Kate's opinion. She was quite done with all the fighting and bickering for one day, and if it wasn't too much to ask, then for several more days as well.

'See you in minute, I guess,' she grinned, suddenly anxious to get away from here. She had wondered what Beorn's house would look like and what the skin-changer himself would be. So far her imagination had not been able to come up with something.

They left the others before another word could be said, walking down the same path Gandalf and Bilbo had taken. Thorin was remarkably quiet. The silence wasn't unfriendly, though. It was more like he was deep in thought, something Kate could understand all too well these last few days. The more responsibility one had, the more thinking they needed to do.

But in the end she was the one to break the silence. 'Why did you ask for the knowledge of the book back there?' The question had not been far from her mind ever since Thorin had first all but demanded that she share what she knew.

He arched an eyebrow at her, apparently somewhat confused about the question asked. 'Why would I not?' he countered. 'Had we not agreed that I would listen to your advice?'

He had of course, but that was not exactly what she had meant when she posed the question. 'No, I mean, why did you ask in front of all the others? Are you not afraid it will undermine your authority when you ask me for advice when the others are present?' She had always believed that was the reason why he had not done so before, that he had always demanded answers in relative privacy, away from prying eyes and ears. Kate thought this was because he wanted to appear as the leader who knew everything and needing advice meant that he could not do what he needed to do all by himself. Naturally that was impossible to do anyway, but it hadn't stopped him from trying, or at least from keeping up the illusion.

Thorin's eyes were fixed upon the road. 'I do not know.' He almost sounded vulnerable now.

Now that was something Kate did not understand. Heaven knew she wasn't always sure why she acted as she did, so she was hardly going to bite Thorin's head off for not always knowing either. Nevertheless she sensed that he was not in the mood to delve into this any deeper and the silence returned. The trees were letting through more light here and Kate enjoyed the sunlight on her skin. Inappropriate or not, she had missed this. And Beorn was probably going to think they were a strange bunch anyway. There would not be much reputation or first impressions to ruin.

From a distance she could see the house, large and made entirely out of wood. It was exactly how it had been described in the book and this reassured the advisor. At least this meant that something was as she had always known it to be.

'You know, when you introduce yourself, don't add the at your service bit.' She only just remembered that now. She had read it only this morning and had then told herself that she should inform her companions, so they would not annoy their host before he had granted them the hospitality of his house. But of course so much had happened since then, that she had entirely forgotten to tell the others.

Now Thorin's head did turn in her direction. 'Why?' he demanded.

Kate shrugged. 'According to the book he doesn't like that. Something about when he needs your service he'll ask for it.'

Thorin nodded. They were walking into the garden now. There were flowers everywhere. It made the place look friendly. It made the place look _homely_, she corrected herself, and Kate couldn't help but smile at the relaxed atmosphere that surrounded them. It lifted the weight that had been on her shoulders. Thorin however did not seem to react to it. He was still on a mission and until he had completed it, he would not let down his guard.

Gandalf and Bilbo were seated in front of the house, a huge man with black hair next to them. The wizard seemed entirely relaxed, acting like he belonged here, but Bilbo seemed a bit uneasy and Kate could not blame him for that. She would have been too had she found herself between Gandalf and the enormous skin-changer who could change in a black bear the moment it pleased him to do so. Said skin-changer appeared to be displeased. It was not that unlikely that he was starting to realise that Gandalf had not been entirely honest about the size of the company. Poor guy. He had not yet heard that being forthcoming with information was not a trait of Gandalf's. As unfortunate as that would be, Kate found that she could not blame him should he decide he was not prepared to put up with that kind of behaviour.

'Ah, there they are!' The cheerfulness in Gandalf's voice sounded genuine, probably was. His fits of temper were short-lived and could probably not hold a grudge to save his life. It was one of the reasons why it was so difficult to remain angry with him. That and his friendly old grandfather looks, she added wryly to herself.

Beorn sized them up. Kate had never been really tall, but next to this man she felt like a proper dwarf. He was huge and in no small degree intimidating as he practically loomed over them. 'And who are you?' he boomed. He definitely had the voice to match, the sound of it carrying across the garden.

'Catherine Andrews, sir,' she replied. 'Pleasure to meet you.' Of that she was of course not yet sure, but at least it was polite. And that had never been known to hurt anyone.

'Thorin Oakenshield,' Thorin introduced himself. The words seemed to be coming from between clenched teeth. It didn't take much to realise that he would really rather not be here. 'At your service.'

Kate would have groaned if she thought she would not draw people's attention by doing that. She had warned him not to do this. Had he even been listening to her?

And Beorn reacted as she had predicted. He huffed. 'I do not need your service, thank you,' the skin-changer rumbled. 'But I expect you need mine.'

* * *

From Kate's notes: _I told you so! Seriously, don't dwarves ever listen at all when you tell them something?_

* * *

**That's it for today. Next one should be up Sunday. Until then, reviews would be lovely. What did you think about this one? Suggestions are also very welcome.**


	31. Chapter 31 Sound of Music

**Chapter 31**

**Sound of Music**

_Beorn turned out to be a quite gentle soul. He was intimidating, that much was true, but I had a feeling that we were not supposed to be the ones that should be intimidated. At any rate he took the arrival of more and more dwarves remarkably well for someone who apparently had a firm and longstanding dislike of the dwarven race. Maybe that really was the result of the tale Gandalf was telling, but maybe he just wasn't that opposed to guests as he tried to make us believe. His manners were a bit rough, but he was no less friendly for it and despite his looks I took a liking to him._

_Your father was another matter entirely. I am well aware that all of you were spying on the trade talks we had with the elves several years back – and no, denying will not do you any good, dears – so I think you will also recall Thorin's disapproving look whenever it was expected of him to talk directly – and politely! – to Thranduil. It was that look that told him that if given the choice he would rather run the elf through or else run as far away from his presence as he could. It was exactly that look that was also on his face when we arrived at Beorn's house, although I think it's fair to say that the urge to run him through was not all that present back then. That does not mean however that he was not fully prepared to use violence should the situation ask for it._

_And he was not the only one who was tense. My companions were tense as well, even if they did indeed appreciate the fact that there was a decent meal available. They were acting like they were sitting on hedgehogs rather than chairs and my assurances that no harm would come to us here did almost nothing to calm them. In a way I understood their restlessness – and their frustration over the absence of meat on the menu – because dwarves tended to be uneasy around people that were taller than they were. Gandalf they could put up with – if not with the most enthusiasm I had ever witnessed – because of his kind manners and altogether non-threatening appearance – when he wanted to appear in such a fashion of course. And Gandalf had the added bonus of being very useful to the quest. But not even around him my new friends and family were totally at ease. And Beorn was by far the tallest person I had ever encountered, and was somewhat threatening at that. Even I would rather stay a bit out of his way._

_So I think we were all rather relieved when the skin-changer announced after dinner that he would pop out for a while…_

**Thorin**

Thorin would never admit this when called on, but the presence of the huge skin-changer unnerved him. Even Gandalf seemed frail and harmless in comparison and he had seen the wizard in action and at his most dangerous. It was almost a relief when Beorn told them he would leave them for the night.

They had been ordered to stay inside and make themselves at home. Most of the company had taken that as their cue to find a comfortable spot and turn in for the night. It was dark outside and quite possibly very late already, but Thorin did not find rest here, same as in Rivendell. He knew there was no real reason to be as uncomfortable as he was. Their host was an intimidating man, no doubt, but he also had no intention of harming them, so unlike the elves they had been forced to stay with for an entire week. Quite the opposite, he seemed to like them, although Thorin was positive that most of that was the result of the company being responsible for the demise of the Great Goblin, who the skin-changer hated with a passion. He had been practically beaming when Gandalf relayed that part of their tale to him.

Beorn, so he had come to learn, hated goblins as fiercely as Thorin himself, which gave them some common ground. It did nothing however to make him any more at ease in the man's presence. But at least the company had been able to relax some now that he had left, if Bombur's loud snoring was anything to go by. The fattest dwarf was lying on the other end of the house, but Thorin could hear him loud and clear. It was a small miracle that any of the others near him were able to sleep at all with the noise Bombur made. That snoring of his could wake the dead, Thorin thought with a snort.

Gandalf had disappeared out of Thorin's line of sight and for the moment he could really not care less where the wizard had gone to. If Kate's theory was right he had been manipulating the entire quest so far and that did not particularly warm Thorin to the idea of having him around. When everyone had cooled off some there were questions that needed answering, although he doubted Gandalf would reveal much.

With some amusement he remembered the advisor hurling Gandalf's pipe into the Anduin. It was one of the funniest things he had seen in a long time. And of course it had been nice to not be the one who was on the receiving end of Kate's anger for once. As king it was expected of him to behave himself, even if he was practically boiling over with rage. It came with the territory. He could never have done what Kate had done back there, no matter how much he wanted to. Fortunately the advisor was not bound by such rules.

The advisor herself had made herself comfortable near the fireplace. She was lying on her bedroll, reading again. She tended to do that before she went to sleep. Some time ago he had overheard her telling Ori that it calmed her mind. And there would be some calming for her to do after those verbal explosions today. Her fit of temper this morning had to be the most fiery he had ever seen in her. And strangely enough it had been a matter of Middle Earth, of the quest, she had gotten so worked up about, not about Gandalf's refusal to let her go home. That wasn't something that had escaped his notice.

Thorin's eyes wandered across the room, settling on an object in the far back of the hall, where he had not yet been. Right now he wondered why not. The object standing there was a harp, Thorin's instrument of choice. Some thought it a strange instrument to be playing for a warrior, but he did not. Kate had her reading to calm her mind, he had music. In times of distress and crisis it brought him some measure of relief, of peace. And Mahal knew that was a hard thing to come by. Playing the harp calmed his heart, stilled his thoughts. It allowed him to pour his feelings into the music and for some precious moments he could forget about the world and the burdens it had placed on his shoulders.

His feet now carried him to the instrument almost of their own volition. Mahal knew the thoughts were racing through his head enough as it was. They had not been still ever since that first conversation he had with Gandalf in Bree, when the wizard suggested they worked together to defeat Smaug for once and for all. There had been no peace since that night, the thoughts of the quest driving him, allowing him no rest until the task was done. It would be good to pour some of that restlessness into music. He doubted he would have to worry much about the noise. If his men were able to sleep through Bombur's snoring, they could sleep through some soft harp music as well.

It was as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders the moment his fingers came into contact with the strings. There was no thinking involved. He played, let his fingers decide what song came out. The rest of the world disappeared and for a while he could just lose himself to the songs he played. For a few hours he could be a musician, not a king who had the fate of his people in his hands, who had more responsibility to shoulder than he sometimes thought he could manage. It was only when he stopped and took the time to do the simple things that he realised exactly how much this cost him. He had seen his reflection in the river today and he looked old and weary, even to his own eyes. His hair was already greying, but that had not been the thing that had worried him. It was the look in his own eyes, that was where he looked old.

He did not know how long he had played, allowing his thoughts to roam freely, when he became aware of someone else near him. His fingers stilled and his head swivelled in the direction of the shape to his left. He found himself looking at the company advisor, who had seated herself on the ground, with her back against the wall and a book in her hands. She seemed relaxed and at ease, her legs folded underneath her and a small smile on her face when she read.

When she realised the music had stopped however she looked up. 'No need to stop playing because of me. Just ignore me.' She shot him an almost apologetic smile. 'I won't get in your way.'

If only. She had been in his way since the moment she had set foot in Middle Earth. 'Why are you here?' he questioned. Last he checked she had been near the fire. He did not see why she would come over here when she had a perfectly good spot to do her reading over there.

Kate shrugged. 'I like the music,' she clarified.

'Was it not audible where you were?' There was something about her presence here that was unnerving him, even if he could not really put his finger on it. Maybe it was because she acted like she belonged here. Maybe it was because some part of Thorin was feeling like she indeed did. It was strange and in a way frightening, not that he would be heard admitting that anytime soon.

'Hardly,' Kate snorted. 'Bombur's snoring was spoiling it somewhat for me, you know. So I just thought I'd move a bit closer to hear it better.' She looked up at him, hesitance obvious in her eyes. 'But I can go back if you're bothered by my presence.'

Thorin resisted the urge to tell her she had been a bother ever since he had met her. 'You are allowed to stay,' he told her.

He had not meant that as an invitation to come closer, but clearly that was how she took it. She closed the book and got to her feet, walking over to the harp. Her fingers traced the shape with gentle admiration. 'It's a beautiful instrument,' she commented. 'And very much like how they look at home.'

Now this had Thorin look at her in surprise. 'Do you play?'

The advisor shook her head. 'No, my mother does. She's quite good at it too, used to play all the time when I was little. I used to sit at her feet and just listen to the music she created.' She shrugged, appearing to be a bit embarrassed. 'It's just good to hear a harp being played again. Reminds me of home a bit, I suppose, of the good things in life.' She bit her lip. 'It's good to remember the simple things, is it not? Lately it just seems too easy to lose sight of the little things with all these big events going on.'

It was a deep thought, something Thorin had not quite expected to hear from her. Kate usually behaved as one who had only just reached adulthood, who had still all the hot-headedness and enthusiasm of a child. But these were not the words of a child that she spoke. It was something he expected to hear from one of his older friends. With some shock he realised that Kate had matured a lot over the last few weeks, or, more specifically, over the last few days. A girl had gone into the Misty Mountains, but a woman had emerged. She could still be as short-tempered as she had ever been, because that was a part of who she was, but she had also shown responsibility and loyalty. Despite her wish to leave, this was also the woman who had risked her life trying to save him from certain death by Azog's hand.

He gave a curt nod in confirmation. 'Indeed,' he agreed.

Stranger still was that her thoughts seemed to mirror his. Maybe they had spent too much time in each other's company these last few days. What was the reason that they seemed to end up near the other all the time anyway? There were more people around and they both spent a lot of time with those as well, but in the end they always ended up together; in fights, in the eagle's nest and sometimes when they had made camp as well. He wondered if he should think this an alarming development, bur remembered then that Kate was the company's advisor. It was inevitable that he would spend time in her presence. There was still no ground for the elves' and goblins' ridiculous assumptions.

'Well, at least we'll have some days of rest here,' Kate said, a small smile on her face as she looked over to the corner where most of the dwarves had set up camp. 'Which was about time if their snoring is any indication.'

Thorin could not hide his smile entirely. Bombur was by far the loudest, but there was no denying that there was a chorus of snoring at the other end of the house.

'You should play lullabies more often,' the advisor remarked. 'I think they're all out cold, even Bilbo.'

'You are not,' Thorin felt obliged to point out.

'I'm not tired,' she countered. She stifled a yawn. 'Not very tired at least. Besides, I don't think I could sleep with all that snoring,' she added. 'And I can just sit here and read. That's okay, isn't it? I am not bothering you?'

'You are welcome to stay,' Thorin forced himself to say. It wasn't the truth, but he would not be heard saying that he actually had no clue as to how handle her presence. It somehow was a different matter when they were in danger, arguing, discussing her book or forced together by circumstances. In situations like this, when they were not in danger, he had no idea how they should be acting. He supposed that they should be behaving as friends, since that was what they had agreed to be. And he feared that was going to be a challenge in and out of itself.

'And you are welcome to play,' Kate countered. 'Don't let it get to that hairy head of yours, but you're not a bad musician.' It appeared to be her way to give compliment and insult in the same breath and Thorin had learned that this was just how Kate Andrews was. It wasn't like her to tell people outright that she appreciated something they did and Thorin had stopped noticing it. 'Where did you learn to play?'

'In Erebor,' he replied curtly. The love for music had been passed down from his mother and just this simple answer conjured up the memory of her patiently teaching him. He had never been able to spend much time with her. There were always other things that needed doing, whether it was improving his skills for the weapons, being taught by the learned dwarves of the kingdom or learning diplomacy from his grandfather. The moments he spent with his mother and siblings had always been precious to him and learning to play the harp was a pastime that had been treasured by both of them. He now regretted that lack of time, because she had perished the day the dragon came. 'My mother taught me.' He was aware how curt and unkind his reply sounded.

Kate hadn't missed out on it either. 'I'm sorry,' she said, actually sounding like she meant this apology. 'Was I dragging up painful memories?'

'She died when Smaug came to Erebor,' Thorin answered, not even sure why he was sharing this memory with her. 'She remained behind to help as many as she could get away.'

Kate's fingers still traced the shape of the harp absent-mindedly. 'I am sorry,' she said again, eyes on the instrument. 'I did not mean to re-open old wounds, truly.' She bit her lip. 'Compared to that… My complaints must sound very pathetic to your ears. And I apologise for that as well. Good grief, I must have been behaving like a spoiled child when we just met.'

Thorin was not completely sure what he had expected her to say, but he was convinced that this was not it. This was indeed a more mature Kate than he had seen so far and he wondered what had brought this change about. In a way this both did and didn't suit her. It was a good thing she started acting like an adult, but at the same time Thorin found he regretted the need for it. Too many of his people had he seen grow up in such a manner and it seemed unfair that the woman from another world, who had nothing to do with the affairs of Middle Earth, had been forced to go through the same development.

'It is in the past,' he said dismissively. It was true that she had behaved like a child back then in Bag End, but so many things had happened since that night that he found he could not truly blame her for her behaviour then. That was what it meant to be friends, he supposed.

Kate nodded, but she still did not meet his eyes. 'Yes. I suppose it is. It doesn't make my behaviour any less childish, though.' The smallest hint of a smile returned to her face. 'I'll try to be a little less of a bother in future.'

'I did not call you a bother,' Thorin reminded her.

'No, I think burden was the word used.' The smile was back for real now, as was the teasing tone in her voice. 'And some things don't need to be spoken to be heard all the same.' When he looked up at her in confusion, she chuckled. 'You're forgetting who you're talking to. Back home I was an aspiring journalist and I did a lot of interviews with people in the months before I came here. Reading between the lines was almost part of my job.'

Thorin still did not know what kind of work it was that she had done there, but he wasn't going to put his ignorance on display if he could help it. 'I do not think you a burden,' he told her, almost sternly. Not anymore at least, not since he had realised just how useful Kate's knowledge could be to the quest. She had created a place amongst their number for herself, same as Mr Baggins had done when he had stormed at the orc that had been about to take Thorin's head off, and with nothing more than that letter opener of his at that. He may have been reluctant to take the two of them with him, but he would admit that they had proven themselves to be useful. Maybe Gandalf was not as crazy as he had always believed him to be. Maybe he had, just this once, known exactly what he was doing. Now that would be a first.

Kate seemed unsure of how to react to those words. 'Progress again,' she commented in the end. 'We seem to do that all the time lately.' Her fingers were drawing patterns on the harp now. 'And you can play, you know. I'll just get lost and leave you to play.' She indeed made to move back to her previous spot.

'Do you sing, Kate?' The words had left his mouth before he had given them permission to do so and for a few moments he wondered where they had come from. But then he shrugged it away. This was a normal thing to do with friends.

'A little,' Kate replied. 'But I doubt there are songs we both know.'

One corner of his mouth curled up. 'I do not believe that is the truth,' he disagreed, unable to fight back the smirk that found its way to his face. 'Bofur has been teaching you some songs, hasn't he?'

Kate coloured a bright crimson. 'If you think I'm going to sing those, you've got another thing coming, Thorin Oakenshield.' It was only then that she realised he had been teasing her and she sent him a half-hearted glare. 'Very funny.'

'That it was,' he agreed.

'I bet,' came the muttered reply. 'I should probably learn not to take you too seriously from now on.' She frowned at him. 'But since when are you in the business of teasing people anyway? Forgive me for saying, but it doesn't seem very like you, if you understand what I mean.'

There was no real answer to that question, because he had not been, as she phrased it, in the business of teasing people for a long time, not since Erebor had fallen. There had been the occasional jest with Dwalin, but he could not really afford to spend time joking, not when there was an entire people to lead. Their life in the Ered Luin may not be too bad, but their existence wasn't easy either. Maybe that was what had made him look this old. But Kate brought out something that made it feel completely natural for him to tease her and exchange jokes and witticisms. It didn't even feel strange that she as outsider learned their language and heard their songs. And that was certainly an alarming development.

'It is merely something you have not seen before,' Thorin pointed out. Because Mahal knew that he and Frerin had been good at this light-hearted business in their younger days before they were driven out of the Mountain.

'So it would seem,' Kate agreed. 'But I like it.' Her fingers left the instrument and she walked back to where she had sat before, picking up the book she had been reading.

Thorin took it as his cue to continue playing. His fingers started the tune of a well-known dwarvish lullaby, no doubt inspired by the advisor's remark that he should play lullabies more often. The words followed almost effortlessly. They were in Khuzdul and he was sure Kate didn't understand enough of that tongue to grasp the song's lyrics, but when he looked in her direction again, she had drifted off to deep slumber, the book still in her hands.

**Kate**

It was already late in the morning when Kate woke eventually. The first thing she noticed upon waking was that she was far too comfortable. She vaguely recalled dozing off with her back against the wall with harp music in the background. There had been no way that she could reasonably have ended up in her own bedroll near the fire unless she had developed a habit of sleepwalking overnight – which admittedly was highly unlikely. Another explanation did not seem possible.

But she wasn't too alarmed. There was no danger here, not as long as they actually heeded Beorn's instruction to not go outside for as long as it was dark. She felt lazy in the very best way. She could not even remember when she had last felt this comfortable or content, but she had a feeling that it may have been the day before she left on this trip and that seemed like another life altogether now. Sometimes she became so emerged in the affairs of this world that her life back at home felt like something of a distant dream to her; there, but not entirely real.

Kate cracked an eye open, but closed them almost right away. The bright light of day filled the hall and she needed some time to adjust to it. At least this confirmed both her suspicions: she had indeed slept till late morning and she had somehow been returned to her own bedroll, even when she had fallen asleep on the other end of the house.

Her gaze sought out the spot she had sat the previous night only to find it abandoned. The harp was still there, but there was nothing to suggest it had ever been played or that two people had spent time there. To her still somewhat sleepy brain the whole encounter started to feel rather like a product of her own imagination than something that had truly happened right now. The fact that Thorin had been teasing her – something which was so unlike him – and that they had not been fighting – something that was very unlike them – added to that theory.

She was just about to dismiss it all as a fanciful dream when she realised that _The Hobbit_ was missing. If she had truly fallen asleep here, then that book should be somewhere near her, quite possibly under her head if she had fallen asleep while reading. _Not that much of a dream then._

From outside she heard her companions. Some of them were talking, others laughing. At any rate they were clearly wide awake. It was a small miracle she had slept through that racket in the first place, because if she had learned one thing from travelling with a bunch of dwarves was that they could not move quietly to save their lives and consequently she was always one of the first people awake.

Apparently not today and really she could not care less about any of it. What she did wonder about was where her book had gone to. From where she lay she could see the spot where she had sat yesterday, but there wasn't a book in sight. She wasn't opposed to people borrowing it – that would only make her own job easier – but she was very much opposed to people who thought that borrowing without permission was okay. And her friends should have known that. The time she had scolded Nori on top of her lungs for trying to make off with some of her jewellery in Rivendell was not likely to be forgotten by any of them. They should have known better.

She got up and searched for her boots, but eventually decided against wearing them. It was still far too hot outside for such footwear. Today she could pretend to be a hobbit – according to Kíli she looked a lot like them anyway with her curly hair – and go around barefooted. And she wasn't going to wear anything with long sleeves either. Last night had taught her that her new friends learned to ignore it in the end.

Kate crashed almost literally into Bombur on her way out, which was no contest at all. She stumbled back, tripped over her own feet and unceremoniously ended up on her backside, which induced a round of laughter from the assembled dwarves. Bombur, although looking rather sheepish, was still standing on his own two feet.

'Watch where you're going, Kate!' Fíli laughed. 'Bombur can't be that hard to miss now, can he?'

'There's no arguing that point,' she agreed. She shook her head good-naturedly and let Bombur help her to her feet. 'Not your fault,' she added. 'I was still half asleep.' _And wondering where the hell my book has gotten to_. 'Any chance of getting some breakfast anywhere?'

'I saved you some!' Ori spoke up. He was seated at the far end of the table on the veranda.

'Just in time or Bombur would have eaten it all,' Bofur chimed in.

Said dwarf turned a shade of bright red and Kate felt a little sorry for him. Some weeks ago she would probably have snapped at him for not watching where he was going, but that was a few weeks ago. Right now, things had changed. She could not pinpoint when said change had occurred, but it had and now she was part of the gang, so to speak. It could have been her helping Thorin out on the battlefield, it could have been that night on the Great Shelf or it could have been revealing her knowledge the book, the reason why she was not as useless as some of them had previously believed. But when this had happened did not really matter, it just had. And now that she knew she was not going back any time in the foreseeable future, she dared to let herself enjoy this newfound friendship. Bantering like this made her feel one of the boys, and not the delicate female the lot of them sometimes seemed to believe she was. And that suited her just fine, because that was how things at home had always been.

'Ah, knock it off, Bofur,' she chastised playfully. 'He just has a healthy appetite, is all.' _And he finishes my meals whenever you lot dump too much on my plate again_. 'And you'll have to admit that comes in pretty handy when we need to bump the orcs away from us again.' She had seen him do that when they made their escape from Goblin-town and she had deemed it an impressive feat.

'Ha!' Kíli let out a bark of laughter. 'That can't be said about you, though, right, Kate? About the healthy appetite?'

She sent him her most stern look. 'I've got enough appetite for breakfast,' she informed him. 'And that means you don't get to eat my portion.'

The flash op disappointment on his face was enough to tell her that this assessment of the situation had been spot on. It took her some effort to bite back the smirk that was dying to creep onto her face. 'Balin is right,' he murmured. 'You _do_ sound like Thorin.'

'I am trying to work out if that was a compliment or an insult,' she told him. But she was fairly sure that it was the last one. 'But I am going to do that while eating my breakfast. Shove over, will you?'

She took a spot and Ori pushed a plate her way. Kate felt touched that he had actually meant it when he said that he had saved her some food, because it was all too obvious that the rest of the food was currently drifting around in the stomachs of the dwarves. She sent them a reproachful look and most of them had at least the good sense to look a little ashamed. She supposed she should be glad that Ori had the good sense to collect something from the table or there'd have nothing been left. She figured Dori would have done the same had he been here – and he'd have given the company a good scolding to go with it – but this was just a small group sitting here, consisting of Ori, Fíli, Kíli, Bofur, Bombur and Balin. The latter was watching the whole encounter with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. It was the look of the patient grandfather watching the younger generation's antics. Somehow it made Kate feel like a kid all over again.

'Thanks, Ori,' she told her new brother. 'Or this whole sorry lot would have wolfed it all down.'

'You're welcome.' The scribe favoured her with a dazzling smile.

'You should have gotten up earlier, Kate,' Bofur commented.

The advisor snorted. 'Now why on earth would I do that? We're having the time to rest now. A girl can sleep in if she chooses, right?'

'You should have gone to sleep earlier then,' he insisted. Something about the tone of voice reminded her of Balin when he was trying to be subtle about something and nothing good had ever followed it. It would be a fair guess to say that today was no exception.

'And how, pray, would I have done that with that snoring concerto the rest of you kept up?' she deflected whatever it was that Bofur was implying. 'That noise would wake the dead.'

Kíli laughed. As one of the dwarves that didn't snore he could do that, she supposed. 'You'll learn to live with it.'

_And by the time I'm used to it, I will be going back home_. She did not know why this thought made her feel sad, but she would not dwell on it. It did not suit the light mood that was present here. 'I suppose I will,' she replied with a smirk. 'Once I find myself some decent earplugs.'

'Thorin's lullaby seemed to help as well,' Bofur commented.

So, that was why her alarm bells had been going off just now. It was that again, wasn't it? 'It drowned out the noise,' Kate pointed out. Bugger this lot! What was this, the get-Thorin-and-Kate-together-conspiracy? Were they really this insane that they believed the elves' ridiculous assumption? And it was not as if the idea was so logical. Everyone who had assumed that she was Thorin's wife had in almost the same sentence judged it to be rare, strange, unheard of. Unusual, the Great Goblin had said. And from what Kate had gathered marriages between individuals from different races did just not happen. There were some examples between men and elves, but as far as she aware not one single dwarf had ever married someone from another race. So where did this assumption come from?

Bofur's smile spelled trouble for everyone with eyes to see it.

'Don't you even dare think it,' she warned him. 'I am done with this whole business, do you hear me? Thorin and I are friends. There is nothing, I repeat _nothing_, else going on. Quite frankly, this is getting on my nerves.' The irritation was steadily building to a full-out anger-attack. 'And the last person to get on my nerves…'

'… Got his pipe thrown in the river,' Fíli finished. 'We all saw it.'

'Then you know what to expect,' Kate countered. 'Seriously, guys, knock it off.'

Bofur threw his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. 'I am not saying anything.'

Kate snorted. 'No, but you were going to. Same thing. And speaking of things we weren't talking about, anyone any idea where my book has gone off to?' Changing the topic would be a wise decisions by all accounts. 'I don't think it has grown legs overnight and has taken itself for a walk.' That question had been on her mind she discovered the novel missing anyway and it would be nice to have some answers. She liked her companions – she would not go back on that – but they had to understand that there were limits, such as not touching her belongings without permission or meddling in her lack of a love life, such as it was. And she was planning on maintaining the lack of a love life, so their insinuations were pointless anyway.

'I saw Thorin walk away with it, I think,' Kíli said with a frown. 'And he said he did not want to be disturbed.'

Kate was not entirely sure if this was a good development or not. Admittedly she had been the one to urge Thorin to read the sodding book in the first place and she thought she had convinced him to do that, but in the oath he had made to her had been no mention of reading the novel for himself. He had only said that he would listen to her advice, which was not the same thing. And Kate had not missed out on that. But she had told herself to accept his choice, because she could not truly blame him for it. In his place she would probably be a little scared as well to read a novel that predicted her own death. She would have to make do with giving the advice and hoping that Thorin would let her do what she was here for.

To now learn that he had made off with the book, presumably to read it, came as a slight surprise to her, even if it should not have been entirely unexpected. But she'd be damned if she let any of her surprise show. They didn't need to know of the arrangement they had made. It was none of their concern.

'Of course,' she said, acting as if she had only just remembered something. 'He said that he would.' Strictly speaking that wasn't a lie, so she did not feel too bad about it. 'It must have escaped my mind.'

The teasing smile was back on Bofur's face. 'Thorin's music must have something to do with that.'

Kate sent him the filthiest look she could muster. 'I dare you to repeat such words within his hearing distance,' she growled, knowing full well that such a thing would never ever happen. Such comments were only made when Thorin wasn't there to hear them. For once Kate wished she had some of the dwarf king's authority so she could silence them with a single glare. 'If not, I'd advise you to keep your mouth well and truly shut.'

But she wasn't in any position to boss the cheerful dwarf around and well he knew it. 'Ah, lass…'

'It's your pipe,' she reminded him. Deciding that continuing on this subject would only tempt him to make more remarks she did not want to hear, she turned to Ori. 'How about some Khuzdul lessons?' she suggested. 'It's been ages since we had them and I swear I'm forgetting most of those bloody grammar rules you're trying to get into my head.' Khuzdul lessons at least were safe. Most of the company accepted it now, even if Dwalin still did so grudgingly, and there was no chance that the topic could shift to anything more dangerous than those grammar rules she had so much problems with.

Ori's face lit up. Kate had the feeling her new brother enjoyed his role as her teacher very much and she could not fault him for that; she enjoyed their lessons as well. 'I'll go and get my papers,' he announced. He had all the enthusiasm of a younger sibling, but Kate knew he had decades on her and when he was teaching her – whether it was Khuzdul or Middle Earth and its customs in general – he got this air of a teacher over him and he appeared older.

And Kate had found that she loved the time spent with her new family. Dealing with Nori was still a little awkward and to be quite honest, it was him she'd suspected first when she found her book was missing. Nori could just not help himself. But when it came down to it, they really were a family and Kate could still not for the life of her figure out how it had come to be this way. It had happened without her noticing and, although frightening at first, she would now readily admit that it felt reassuring in a way as well.

Ori went back inside, but came back with his bag. Most of his luggage consisted of journals, quills, ink and spare parchment, something Dori could not wholly approve of, since he was of the opinion those things only took up valuable space that should be filled with useful things. Kate could have sworn that he had rolled his eyes in exasperation when he had discovered the three books his newfound sister carried around.

Ori took out a sheaf of parchment, half of which crashed to the ground when he tried to place it on the table because the bag toppled over and Ori tried to stop that from falling as well. The end result was that both parchment and bag ended up on the floor, inducing laughter from their companions and another filthy look from Kate. 'If you've got nothing useful to do, you can always help and pick it up,' she snapped. 'Or else get the hell out of here and bother somebody else.'

Kíli's nose wrinkled. 'You really are Dori's sister, are you not?'

'Just as bossy,' someone else added under their breath. Kate suspected Fíli.

She snorted and dove under the table and gave the good example herself. She grabbed the pile nearest to her and laid it on the table. 'There you go, Ori.' She was just about to grab the remaining parchments when her eye fell on what was exactly on the ones she had just picked up.

It were drawings, and fairly good ones at that. The one she was looking at was a good likeness of the Great Goblin at his most ridiculous. He could not have drawn that while they were there, so he'd had to work from memory, which made it even more impressive in Kate's eyes. He got the goblin king spot on, from that ridiculous excuse for a chin to his far too large belly.

'This is good, Ori,' she commented. 'Do you mind if I take a look?'

The hint of a blush graced her brother's cheeks at hearing that compliment. 'You like it?' He sounded a bit unsure.

'Would I say it's good when I didn't?' she shot back. 'You're an artist, that's what.'

Kate looked through the drawings, feeling something that may well be called sisterly pride. _Oh, there you go, Catherine. You even start acting all sisterly_. No matter how much she had tried to prevent this, she really had become part of the whole Ri family now. Maybe it was just as well that her name didn't rhyme with those of her new brothers or she might have lost sight of her true identity entirely.

But sisterly pride coming into play or not, there was no denying that the drawings were good and she enjoyed looking at them. Ori had made some sketches of Rivendell and the Shire and quite a few from the company as well. It was their journey in drawing, and one day it would make a wonderful addition to the journal he was already keeping.

And then she froze into place as her eye fell on a sketch almost at the bottom of the pile. It was simple enough, and obviously not quite finished yet. It showed her and Thorin, obviously caught up in some conversation or other. They were facing each other, but Kate had been portrayed as half turned away from the dwarf, the only thing preventing her from doing so completely Thorin's grip on her wrist.

She would have thought this funny and quite defining for how they behaved around one another, had she not seen the expressions Ori had drawn. The picture-Thorin did not seem annoyed with her, but rather serious and in a way even concerned. And she may have expected her drawing self to look annoyed or angry, but clearly that was not what Ori had made of it. The expression he had drawn was teasing maybe, half smiling. She frowned as she realised that she was wearing the short-sleeved shirt in the drawing.

And then it hit her: this was the moment they had made those oaths only the previous day. Was this what that had looked like? Good grief, they did not even look like they were arguing and fighting. Had there been other people's faces in this sketch, she would have said she was looking at some kind of wedding vow exchange. But they were not other people's faces and this was what the company had seen.

Kate choked almost on the thought. If this was really what it looked like to an outsider, could she really be surprised everyone seemed to have jumped to conclusions, no matter how far-fetched or unusual they were? Small wonder everyone they had encountered so far was positive that she was romantically involved with Thorin. If she saw a couple like this back at home, she would have said that they were all over each other. It did not help at all that in her dream that was the exact thing Jacko had said about Thorin and her. Not at all.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _Shit, shit, _shit_! This complicates things. A lot._

* * *

**That's it for today. The harp scene was a request of Gaia-drea, who asked for this months ago, and I finally managed to work it into the story. I hope it is what you expected!**

**On a more serious note, the update rate of the story is going down to once a week from now on. This is temporary, for three weeks at most and then I will go back to twice a week. Have a little patience with me please. With any luck, I might be able to get back to this update rate sooner, but I can't make any promises. **

**So, the next update will be Sunday. In the meantime I'd love to hear your opinion on this chapter! Please review?**


	32. Chapter 32 Agreement

**Chapter 32**

**Agreement**

_To say that I got a heart attack seeing that sketch would be exaggerated. But it _did_ manage to drive the message home that Thorin and I had managed to give our companions a very wrong impression of what was actually going on. And that was quite enough to make me realise that I really had to watch my actions from then on. I am sure that at this point in time there really was nothing else than friendship going on between the two of us, no matter what the others said, and even that friendship was undefined and fragile._

_The others had not even noticed that I was not paying attention to whatever was going on around me and at that time that suited me perfectly and they in turn did not seem to have realised that my mind was miles away. I had no intention of confirming any of their suspicions and so I stored away the drawings with a last compliment to Ori and asked him if we could get to our lessons. _

_The morning passed rather uneventful for me after that. The others left us to go and do whatever it was that they wanted or needed to do and I directed my attention towards the Khuzdul grammar. That distracted me until lunch break. Most of the company joined us on the veranda to eat, with two exceptions: Thorin and Gandalf. Now, the latter's absence did not surprise me at all; Gandalf came and went as he pleased. But Thorin's disappearing act reminded me of the fact that he had taken the book and was apparently reading it._

_As it turned out, he wasn't enjoying the read very much…_

**Thorin**

Thorin did not exactly know why he took the book. At first he knew. It belonged to Kate and to leave it lying there next to the harp for everyone to take, Kate would not thank him for that. It was a natural thing to go back for the novel after he had carried the advisor back to her bedroll.

He had however not counted on the possibility of the book still lying there opened, almost inviting him to read it. There were notes scribbled next to the text, under the text, above the text, everywhere where the advisor had seen a bit of room to write things down. He blamed the last remnants of his youthful curiosity for not just picking it up and slamming it shut as he should have done. Instead he had picked it up and read one of the things Kate had written down. _Not recommendable, I swear_, was the first thing that caught his eyes, a small arrow pointing at a sentence in the text that, in hindsight very predictably, dealt with the flight by eagle.

He could feel a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he remembered how frightened the advisor had been when forced onto the back of an eagle, even when said eagle had promised to not let her fall.

Thorin had not made a conscious decision to move back to the beginning of the book to read some of the other comments she had written, but when he checked again, he was doing it. It was his attempt to understand more of the advisor's character, he told himself, since he had so far failed to understand what was driving her to do the things she did. She was a mystery and those notes were valuable insights in her thoughts.

No, he would refrain from reading the book just yet. He would read a few notes and then place it back next to Kate's rucksack. Then when morning came and they had all rested he could ask for it. Thorin remembered all too well the temper tantrum she had thrown when Nori had tried to make off with something that belonged to her and he could do without such an incident. Mahal knew they had had their fair share of fights over the last few months and now that they finally were friends, it would be nice not to be the one on the receiving end of her anger. He would happily leave that privilege to Gandalf.

He just had not counted on the book's allure and the power of his own curiosity. He had already read the first chapter, so it could hardly hurt to do that again, even without the permission of the book's owner. And the comments she had written were proving to be amusing as well as a useful insight in the workings of her mind. _Lovely mental picture. Just a shame that this did not happen for real_, was scribbled next to the text at the point where it stated that Thorin as well as his companions had taken a fall when Bilbo Baggins opened the door rather abruptly. He assumed that this had been written before they decided to be friends. It sounded like something she may have thought when they were still fighting each other at every turn.

_For the life of me I _cannot_ see Thorin make speeches like _that_. Not that you hear me complain_. This note was written underneath a long speech that Thorin's book-self seemed to be making in Bag End. For some reason this reassured him. It reminded him that not everything that was in this book needed to be true. There were things that were different, could go different in future as well.

But he had to admit that the details may be wrong on some occasions, but the greater story was true. He had established that very soon, because for some reason he found himself unable to stop reading after that first chapter. He blamed the curiosity for that. And oh well, he had promised Kate that he would read this book. He might as well do it right away.

His decision had been made and he installed himself on his bedroll with the book, only changing location when his men started to wake up. He told Kíli he did not want to be disturbed and found himself a good spot underneath some trees near the house. From where he sat he could see the garden and the people in it, but he himself was mostly concealed.

And that proved to be a good thing, for he had a difficult time keeping his reactions to some of the things that he read under control. At first he could keep his habitual calm. The things he read had already occurred, even though sometimes in a slightly different fashion than the book described, and Kate's comments, some in clear annoyance, helped him to deal with what was written. He found _I'm having an I-told-you-so-experience here_ written at the point where they got captured by the trolls and _Bloody elves_ next to the song the elves of Rivendell had greeted them with.

At the same time this caused a shiver to go down his spine. Not all the details may be right, but some others were remarkably – frighteningly – accurate. Some of the words he remembered being spoken were written there in that book. Small wonder that Kate sometimes complained about people using lines from it, even when the people themselves were completely unaware that they were even doing it. It made him once again wonder how it was possible that a book from another world could tell so much about a quest in another world, _before_ the quest had even happened.

But this was the way things were, no matter how frightening or unpleasant and Thorin forced himself to look past it. He was a king, not a snivelling child who would run away and hide when something scared him. He could and would be able to handle this. The fate of the quest just might depend on it.

By the time he had gotten to the point in the book where the company had entered Mirkwood he was reading _The Hobbit_ as if it was a book of learning. Kate's comments here were more business-like. In the parts that were now behind them there had been comments like that as well, but they had mingled with the advisor's commentary about what had really happened and her own opinion of certain events.

This part of the book gave him hope in a way. The book events did not sound very appealing, but he was also convinced that some of the things written in there could easily be avoided. They just needed to be careful, use their common sense, be careful with rations and move as fast as they could. If they did that, they just might be able to make it out of those dreaded woods without running in to spiders and elves. Thorin for one found himself in favour of such an outcome.

His newfound hope however soon abandoned him and by the time he had finished reading, he could hardly stop his hands from trembling. Anyone who knew him would readily admit that it wasn't like him to be scared so badly as to lose control of himself in such a manner. He did not do that and he could never be able to show anyone such weakness, not even Balin and Dwalin, who he had trusted with almost every fear and hope he had ever felt. Dwalin would not understand why he would let himself be shaken so badly by a book. The warrior was still sceptical about Kate's source of knowledge, reminding Thorin all too much of his own attitude towards it when he had just learned of it. Balin would understand. He would however also say that things could be changed if he only worked together with Kate. And the dwarf king was not sure it would truly be that simple.

Dwalin, Kate, Fíli and Kíli were having a training session on the grass right before his eyes. None of them had noticed him. Dwalin was trying to get Kate to use her sword in a better manner while Fíli and Kíli were overwhelming her with their advice, causing the advisor to round on them, snapping at the brothers to keep their mouths shut. If her book was true, then the lads would be dead before too long and they were not even aware of this themselves. They were just themselves, as they had always been: cheerful, enthusiastic and wholly unconcerned about pretty much everything. But yet they were also determined to go on this quest and take back their people's homeland. Thorin longed to send them away, to keep them safe from the terrible fate that this book predicted.

But they would not go if he sent them, he knew that. They were willing to lay down their lives if that was what it took. Fíli, as Thorin's heir, deemed it necessary that he went with the company, because if he didn't, he would not think himself worthy of one day succeeding Thorin. And where Fíli went, Kíli followed. It had always been like that and it would never change. And if this book was right, then they would even follow one another in death.

The king's eyes settled on the advisor, who was trying to follow Dwalin's instructions. She had known this all the while and yet she never had said a single thing to the lads. The only sign that she knew what was ahead was in a note next to the piece that told the reader that Fíli and Kíli would perish in battle: _Never _ever_ going to happen as long as I have a say in the matter. _And Thorin agreed with that. He would do anything if it meant he could keep his company, his _family_ safe.

But this was not the thing that had caused his hands to tremble so badly. He had accepted the possibility of him dying long ago and he would protect his men to his dying breath if need be. Those were things he could change if he only fought hard enough. That future wasn't set in stone and he suspected it was part of the reason why Kate was with them in the first place.

No, it was his own behaviour in the book that shocked him to the core. Gold lust. He knew what it was. He had seen his own grandfather fall to it and he remembered all too well how horrible it had been. He had not been able to do anything, forced to watch as Thrór's love for the Mountain's wealth had consumed him until there was almost nothing left of the proud but just king Thorin remembered from before.

And now the book claimed that he would fall to it as well. It was the almost natural result of being a dwarf of the line of Durin with a history of gold lust in the family and claiming a treasure that had been a dragon's hoard for far too long. He could feel himself go all cold inside, because he knew there would be almost no fighting this. It was an illness of the mind, hardly something one could arm oneself against. It would take over no matter what you did.

This brought him closer to turning back to the Ered Luin than anything had ever done. Giving up his life for his people, that he could do. He had anticipated that – which naturally didn't mean he would not fight his hardest to come out alive again – and he could face that. It would be an honourable death.

But he could not face the prospect of losing his mind to the gold, not when there was an entire people depending on him to reclaim the home they had lost to the dragon. Maybe he should go back, leave the quest to Fíli and let him lead their people home. Thorin knew that if there was the slightest risk of this coming true, then he was not the king his people needed him to be.

And he feared what would become of him. The memory of Thrór was still very alive in his mind and he could _not_ become like him. He feared that everything he had been, everything that made him Thorin, before would simply cease to exist as it had been with his grandfather. His decisions and words would not be his own, but the words of a deranged lunatic, as Kate could so eloquently phrase it. And that was not what his people needed him to be. Such a madman would risk everything Thorin had fought so hard to achieve and that was a risk he could not afford to take.

And he could not share these concerns. Balin would understand, but it would frighten him. He too remembered Thrór's gold lust. Thorin did not doubt that his old friend would try his hardest to keep Thorin from following him down that path, but when it came down to it, Thorin was his king and he would obey the orders he was given, no matter what he himself thought of them. He would not stand up to Thorin if he thought that the king was making a wrong decision, simply because he did not think it was his place to do so. In all his life Thorin had only ever met one single person who seemingly could not care less about the fact that he was a king whose orders needed to be obeyed.

'Oi, that was not fair!' Kate, her sword still in hand, was taking her time to glare at Dwalin as if he was not the most dangerous warrior of the entire company, but a disobedient child that was scolded for not being nice to the other kids.

'Do you think orcs care about being fair, lass?' Dwalin at least gave back as good as he got, wholly unimpressed by the advisor's anger. 'You need to be prepared for anything.'

Kate muttered something Thorin could not hear, but it had Fíli and Kíli chuckle. The advisor was the only one in the company who would not be afraid to tell people she did not like what they were doing, regardless of status. Well, Gandalf did that too, but he would not be there for the entire quest, he knew. The wizard would leave them as soon as they reached Mirkwood to attend to business the nature of which Thorin could only guess at. They would be on their own and no one except Kate was even remotely likely to tell Thorin he was out of line. Although, if he was honest, Kate was more likely to phrase it as him behaving like a hairy idiot.

Just this once the prospect of her insults was a reassurance rather than a nuisance and he had never thought he'd live to see the day he would think about it like that. But here he was and he was almost anxious for the advisor to do exactly what Gandalf had brought her here to do. The wizard's words on the Great Shelf had stayed with Thorin ever since. _He needs someone to make him see sense every now and then, someone he cannot ignore too easily. And I'm afraid I needed someone who would not be too much in awe of his reputation to tell him the truth_. That was summing the company advisor up to perfection. Thorin did not have any real doubts that Kate would tell him whenever she believed him to be acting foolishly. Friendship or no, she was still as prone to shout at him as she had been before.

But could he ask of her to guard his mental health? He was not sure such a thing could be asked of anyone in the first place. But turning back was no longer a real option either, if it had ever been and that was something the dwarf doubted as well. Abandoning the quest had not been an option from the moment he had first decided to ally himself with the wizard. And deep down inside he would not want to return to the Ered Luin. His heart longed for home, even more so since he had seen it from a distance from the eagle's back. The Mountain was calling to him, calling him home. To turn away now that he had laid eyes on it would be the hardest thing he would ever do. And he could not do it.

But could he ask of the advisor to help him fight this gold lust that would come to him when they reclaimed Erebor? Doing so would mean he had to confide in her, share his fear of it. And they might have agreed to be friends, but this was something so intensely personal that he was not even prepared to share it with Balin. Could he bare his soul to a loud-mouthed human woman he had only met several months ago? No, he was not afraid she would blab this information to the others. If there was one thing she excelled in, it was keeping secrets. He was just not sure he could bring himself to show weakness to her.

_But she is the only one, apart from the wizard, who already knows about the gold lust_, a voice in the back of his head reminded him.

And this little voice was right. Kate already knew, whether he wanted her to know or not. But she did not know how much it frightened him. Thorin wasn't even sure that Kate's snappy remarks would be any good in fighting the lure of Erebor's wealth. The wizard's words were all he based this theory on and a wizard, no matter how powerful, could be wrong.

But in the end, what choice did he have? He wasn't sure there were choices to begin with. It would seem that he had not been able to choose his own path anymore from the moment the quest had begun. Or rather, he did have choices, but they were unthinkable and impossible. And in this case it would seem it was no different.

'Careful!' someone shouted from the garden.

That was all the warning he got before Kate's sword flew into the bushes, landing only half a metre away from Thorin. He looked at the sword for a moment and let out a relieved breath that it had not harmed him, only to direct his attention at what happened in the garden right away to see what had caused said blade to land this close to him in the first place.

'You unbelievable buffoon!' There was no mistaking that angry tone. 'I told you I wasn't ready yet!'

'Orcs are not going to wait until their opponent is ready,' Dwalin pointed out, still calm, but he was starting to show signs of annoyance now. 'You'll need to learn to be ready in less than a second, because orcs are not going to give you more. And neither are the elves.'

'Well, unless I am very much mistaken, this is still only a training session,' Kate pointed out, apparently not ready to back down just yet. 'And there is not an elf or orc in sight here. I'm still learning. I know it is somewhat of a disappointment to you, but I am actually not an incarnation of Superwoman.' And when she saw the brothers' expressions, she added: 'And you would really do best not to comment on that.'

Dwalin just favoured her with a stern look, as if she really was nothing more than one of the men he trained back in the Blue Mountains. 'Retrieve your sword,' he ordered the advisor.

Kate answered that with a mock salute. 'Yes, captain.' She snorted and turned around, coming straight at him, keeping up a sotto voce stream of curses and complaints as she did so. It would have made Thorin at least half smile had he not have more pressing concerns on his mind.

Kate walked over to the sword, locating it with something of a relieved smile. It was obvious that she had not yet seen who was seated next to it until she bended over and picked her weapon up. She jumped away when she realised she was not alone, but the shock changed to anger in less than a second when she saw who it was that had startled her so badly. 'Could you _not_ do that?' she fumed. 'You scared the crap out of me!' If that wasn't enough proof of the fact that this woman had no reservations about telling him exactly what she thought, then Thorin didn't know what was.

There was silence for a moment. Kate visibly got herself together and Thorin could see the frown appear on her forehead as she was trying to decipher the meaning of him sitting here as if he was in hiding. Then her eyes fell on the book and realisation dawned. 'You read the book.'

**Kate**

It took Kate approximately five minutes to remember why she hated training or, more specifically, why she hated training with Dwalin. He certainly wasn't the most patient of teachers and would make her go on even when she was ready to drop from sheer exhaustion. Today she was fortunately well rested and her stomach was full, so that was not where the problem lay this time. No, it was the fact that the half-bald warrior seemed to take a pleasure in rubbing her face in just how unprepared she was for the attacks he threw at her. Kate was all too aware of her own flaws, especially when it came to her inability to swing a sword around in the right way, and therefore there was absolutely no need whatsoever to point it out to her over and over again. So when he forcefully knocked the sword from her grasp before she was ready, making it fly into the bushes bordering the garden, her temper snapped.

'You unbelievable buffoon!' It was not the most original thing she had ever come up with, she would readily admit that. But then, she hardly thought about insults she threw at people's heads. They just came out. 'I told you I wasn't ready yet!' At least ten times.

Dwalin's comments about how orcs would not wait for her either was as predictable as it was annoying. She knew that. And the worst thing about this was that she was fully aware that this only vexed her so much because she was all too aware of the fact that she failed at this, spectacularly. And if she didn't improve somewhat, then she might just get herself killed somewhere down the road and that was something she was really trying to avoid.

'Well, unless I am very much mistaken, this is still only a training session,' she growled at her teacher. 'And there is not an elf or orc in sight here. I'm still learning. I know it is somewhat of a disappointment to you, but I am actually not an incarnation of Superwoman.' If only. It would make her life that much easier. Fíli and Kíli seemed of a similar mind. The youngest brother had this mischievous twinkle in his eyes that always preceded a comment she wished she had never heard. 'And you would really do best not to comment on that,' she added quickly.

Fíli at least had the good sense to wipe the smile off his face, replacing it with a serious expression that was an almost exact copy of his uncle's most determined expression. Kíli merely tried to contain his mirth, with trying being the operative word. Dwalin however was not even amused, ordering her to get the sword, which she, after one last mocking comment that she could not bite back, did.

'Bloody dwarf,' she muttered under her breath as she marched into the bushes, hoping that she would be able to find her blade in one go. 'What the hell was he thinking?' But that was one question that did not need answering, because she already knew. Dwalin was trying to prepare her for the real thing and Kate knew very well that him going easy on her would do her no favours in the long run. She had been able to knock out an orc with Thorin's shield, but she did not even dare to hope she would ever be that lucky again. Beginner's luck, that was what it was and she did not want to risk her life like that ever again. It had been beyond frightening. When they ran into danger again, she wanted to be able to defend herself. And that meant that Dwalin's training had become a necessity of life. It did however not mean that she had to like it. Those two things were entirely different.

Well, at least she had some luck. A flash of light on steel caught her eye and it was not even too far away from her. 'Hallelujah,' she breathed. At least that would spare her the humiliation of having to ask for help and risk her companions' laughter.

She bended down to retrieve Excalibur, as the sword was now called, and sheathed it, just to be sure she didn't drop it on accident. That would be just like her and really, she had just made enough of a fool out of herself today already. One more humiliating experience and she might just die of shame. Well, at least that would save me from training…

She was already about to turn when she saw movement from the corner of her eye. That observation was immediately followed by the realisation that someone was sitting there, someone who quite possibly had absolutely no business being there.

After her lessons the first reaction she should probably have had to such a situation was to point her sword at this intruder's chest or throat, but the run-instinct was still stronger and she jumped back instead, proving once more that she was more of a runner than a warrior.

She might have made a run straight back to the garden, had she not risked a second glance at the person sitting there. Maybe it was because he had not yet moved that she looked again, because surely, if this had been an orc she would have been dead by now. Like Dwalin said, they weren't the types to sit back and wait until their opponent was ready.

And this person sitting against the tree was definitely not an orc and he would definitely not approve of the comparison. To her surprise it was the dwarf king that calmly looked up at her from where he sat with his back against a tree.

The shock left her, making room for anger. 'Could you _not_ do that?' she exploded. 'You scared the crap out of me!' She was almost surprised she hadn't suffered a heart attack yet.

But what surprised her even more was the lack of response she was getting from him, which was so very unlike Thorin. Normally he would have pulled a Dwalin and pointed out that she should have been more observant, because orcs would not be as considerate as he was, or he would have sent her that amused glance of his that somehow always managed to make her feel like a stupid child.

Right now there was amusement in his eyes. The dwarf just studied her with that calm, unreadable expression that was as good a mask as any physical one. The only indication that not all was well was in his eyes. He almost looked haunted underneath the amused look and that was something she had never seen before. He had looked angry, amused and serious, but never like this. And for some reason this scared her almost more than an army of orcs could have done.

Her eyes drifted from his face to his hands and then the penny dropped. Thorin was still holding the book he had taken from her without her permission. Originally she had intended to give him a good tongue-lashing for that when she saw him again, but the dwarf king's expression changed her mind. She did not know precisely what had shaken him so badly, but she could always guess. The predicted death of his nephews was not something she had expected to go over well and the advisor did not believe that he would take the news of his impending mental illness any better, especially not when one took into account what had happened to his grandfather. Maybe it had not been that good an idea to let him read the book without any kind of warning beforehand. On the other hand he had taken the book without as much as a by-your-leave, so she could not really be held accountable for the king's reactions, could she?

'You read the book,' she concluded. It was the first thing that was said after the lengthy silence that was dragging on so long that it was starting to feel more than a little uncomfortable.

She was rewarded with a curt nod of the head. 'I did.' Thorin's voice was as calm as usual, but there was an icy cold underneath the calm.

Shit! He wasn't blaming her, was he? That was what this tone of voice usually meant, even if its owner remained perfectly polite. Sometimes it was just so difficult to tell what he meant and what he did not mean. Bloody dwarf.

And she just wanted to get out of here. Thorin was still sitting, making no attempt to get up, so for just this once Kate was looming over him instead of the other way around. It didn't make her feel as confident as she had once thought it would. Quite the contrary, that look combined with the silence that followed his altogether curt reply made her almost long to run back to the garden to continue training. Now that was something she had never imagined herself thinking.

'Can you find that sword, Kate?' Fíli yelled.

That was her way out of here if she wanted to take it. And just a second ago she would have run back without giving it as much as a second thought. But there was a look in Thorin's eyes that made her feel like both a coward and the worst person alive if she turned away now. There was still ice in his stare, but at the same time he looked lost, forlorn, almost as a stray puppy begging for attention. This thought she would of course never put into the spoken word. Thorin might just bite her head off for that, because she tried to undermine his reputation of a dwarf who was only capable of two emotions: anger and general grumpiness.

'I've got it!' she called over her shoulder.

'Come back then!' Kíli cried.

It was a spur of the moment decision, one that she might later regret because she wasn't even sure this was what Thorin wanted and she was even less sure it was what she wanted, but Kate supposed she would find soon enough. 'Sorry, can't!' she replied. 'Your uncle needs to discuss some things with me.'

It was silent for a while and then it was Kíli who yelled back. 'Okay!' Kate tried not to guffaw at how easily the archer had copied the words from her world. Ten to one that he had never even heard the word okay before she showed up. It just didn't sound very like something someone from Middle Earth would say.

The advisor sat herself down opposite the king, folding her legs underneath her. 'You look like you need to talk about it?' Because of her uncertainty if this was even what she should be doing, it came out as a question. Normally Thorin would bite people's heads off when they suggested that he was not as all right as he wanted to appear and Kate had just done a lot more than making it a mere suggestion.

One corner of his mouth curled up, but the smile did not reach his eyes. 'Have you become a social worker or what was it that you called it?' he inquired.

Kate snorted, remembering all too well that was the thing she had said back in that cave in front of the goblins' emergency exit when it had been Thorin trying to do the reassuring. It had not worked of course. 'Well, if that's what you need.' She kept her tone light and shrugged. The last thing she wanted was to suggest that this was something he could not handle on his own. 'You look like you've seen a ghost, actually.' This too was met by silence, with the additional disapproving stare she had come to know so well. 'Listen,' she tried. 'I know it must be pretty shocking for you, this book. And no one is actually saying you should go around carrying that burden all on your own. At least try to talk about it with Balin if you think you can't talk to me. He'd understand.'

It was all too clear that he wasn't going to discuss this with her. Part of her was relieved, because she had no idea how to handle this situation and Balin would be so much better suited to the job. He had known Thorin for years and would know what was going on in that thick skull of the dwarf opposite her far better than Kate could ever hope to know. Another part of her however was disappointed, feeling rejected even, no matter how stupid that feeling was. They had agreed to be friends and friends trusted one another. She had believed that this was the case with them, especially after last night. He had shared a memory with her that was painful to him and he had trusted her not to abuse the faith he had placed in her by talking about it with the rest of the company. She had, foolishly, believed that last night would mean that there was progress in this strange friendship. Apparently she had been wrong, but she would not share any of that pain with Thorin. She did not even know herself why his unwillingness to talk hurt her like this.

Kate got to her feet again with every intention of leaving Thorin to think about this alone, but she was jerked back before she even had her feet placed under her, causing her to fall rather than to sit back down. 'Balin would not understand,' Thorin replied.

Kate frowned. 'Do you think I do?' His hand, that still had to let go of her wrist, seemed to imply that he indeed thought so. 'And can you let go, please? It's still a little tender from yesterday.'

Thorin did as she asked. He studied the bruising on her arm. 'Is that of my doing?'

A simple but very true yes was probably not going to do his mood any favours, so she settled for 'Don't worry about it. It's no big deal.'

Thorin visibly disagreed. 'I apologise.'

Now there was something she had no idea how to handle. His anger and moodiness she could deal with, but the Thorin she had gotten to know wasn't the type of person to apologise to anyone, least of all to a nosy advisor who didn't know when to keep her nose out of other people's business. 'Thorin Oakenshield, apologising? Whatever next?' She tried to deflect it with a joke, hoping she could hide just how awkward this felt to her. And the most annoying thing was that she not even knew why on earth this was so awkward to her. She should be rejoicing that they were moving forward again. 'So, the book?' she urged, steering the topic back to things she felt she could actually handle. 'You've read it all?'

He gave her a curt nod in confirmation. 'Do you believe it to be true?' There was an unspoken plea for denial to be heard in his words, even though it would be a safe bet to say that the dwarf had not intended for her to hear that.

So she pretended that she hadn't. 'Difficult to say,' she answered truthfully. 'On one hand I'd say yes, because of everything that has happened so far. I mean, we have not been able to avoid Rivendell, the goblins and Azog, even though we tried our hardest to avoid a run-in with them. But I think that was as much Gandalf's scheming as our own reluctance to work together.' She grimaced at the memory of exactly how much that wizard's meddling had affected the quest so far and by the looks of things Thorin had not forgotten about that either. 'But on the other hand, he's going to leave us soon and then we can chart our own path.' The plural came almost natural to her and the moment after she said it she wondered why. As far as she was aware she was only here in an advising role. It was not her job to make the decisions. That was Thorin's prerogative and his alone.

But if the dwarf king had noticed her little slip-up, then he did not comment on it. 'Do you believe that events can be changed, Kate?'

There it was again, the vulnerability that he tried to conceal, but that seeped through in words and eyes all the same. Kate did not think she would soon see that again, not after all the trouble he went to in order to maintain the image of the strong dwarf king. And she did not know why he allowed her to see it – for if he really had not wanted her to know, he would have found a way to hide it from her, of that she was certain – because she didn't even count as a close friend of his. But this place had something almost magical about it. They were seated away from prying eyes and ears and somehow she felt that this was different from other times when they had talked more or less in private. There were less walls between them and it made her feel both relieved and a little frightened, because she just was not used to this.

So she opted on telling him the truth again. 'I do think so, yes. I do not think it will be very easy, but I think that it can be done.' She swallowed, buying herself a few seconds to formulate her next few sentences. 'The Battle of the Five Armies is going to be difficult to avoid, I admit. I mean, wherever we go, I do think Azog will come after us anywhere.'

'That is not what concerns me most.' The tone was still gruff and the words seemed to come from between clenched teeth, but just the fact that he was sharing this with her made some stupid irrational part of her was rejoicing because he did trust her with this.

_Will you just get a grip, Catherine Andrews?_ common sense snapped at her. _You're having an important discussion and you're choosing to be happy?_

And it was right of course. 'This is about the gold lust, isn't it?' She was taking a great risk here, because that was something that concerned Thorin himself and it was something he was obviously fearing a lot. And given his grandfather's history with that illness, he would probably be completely justified in being so. 'Sorry, was that too straightforward?'

To her surprise Thorin shook his head at her. 'No, you are correct.' He seemed to struggle with himself for a few seconds and then made up his mind. 'Do you think you can prevent it?'

For a moment she did not really understand what he was asking, but then her jaw dropped. 'Are you asking me if I think I can stop the gold lust from taking hold of you?' She truly hoped she did not sound too incredulous just now.

Thorin nodded, holding her gaze with his eyes, effectively preventing her from looking away, as she by now was dying to do. It was huge thing that he was asking of her here. But, as she let her thoughts wander, she realised that Thorin was not the first to ask this of her. Gandalf's words from on the Great Shelf sounded in her head again. _He needs someone to make him see sense every now and then, someone he cannot ignore too easily. And I'm afraid I needed someone who would not be too much in awe of his reputation to tell him the truth_. That was what he had said. But so far the wizard had only prevented her from doing the job he had brought her here to do in the first place. But what if he only wanted her to change the outcome of the book? What if he wanted her to leave the rest as it was? His explanation would surely suggest so.

The responsibility pressed down on her again, heavier than before. So far she had thought it would merely be her job to advise and it would be up to Thorin whether or not he acted on that knowledge. But this, this was something else entirely. This forced her to actively do something. This forced her to fight for her friends, especially the one that was still looking at her.

She swallowed again. 'Gandalf thinks that it can be done,' she replied, truthfully. He would not want her to lie to him. Thorin was just not the kind of person who wanted people to say things they thought he would want to hear from them. He himself could be almost brutally honest and he expected that same courtesy extended to him. 'And I will try to do what I can.' There was nothing more she could promise him. 'That I can promise you.' She bit her lip. 'I know that isn't much, but I'd swear to it if you want me to.' Where the hell did that come from? Had she not made enough oaths as it was already?

Apparently her words took Thorin as much by surprise as they had done her. 'Would you?'

Well, this was hardly the time to chicken out. She had already promised, so it would be seen as cowardly to not make good on it. 'Sure,' she said, trying to give every appearance of making it look like something that was completely natural. 'So, there we go again. I, Catherine Sarah Andrews, solemnly swear to do whatever it takes to prevent the gold lust from taking hold of Thorin Oakenshield. 'I'll even tell him he's a hairy idiot, a pig-headed buffoon or a right royal imbecile if need be.'

Her intention succeeded; by the time she had finished the vow the haunted look in the dwarf's eyes had subsided somewhat. His mouth curled up in what appeared to be indulgent amusement. Normally that made her feel like a little child as well, but right now it was just better than the unadulterated terror that had been there before. He seemed reassured. The expression on his face had remained rather stoical throughout the whole encounter, but his posture wasn't that rigid anymore and that had to count for something.

'Come on, I smell dinner,' she told him, getting to her feet. Correction, she was trying to get to her feet. Thorin's hand had slotted around her wrist again, of the left arm this time, forcing her back to the ground.

'We are not yet done,' he reminded her.

And she did remember that. But she just was not sure if she could handle more oaths today. 'It was an oath made to a friend,' she pointed out. 'I need none in return.' That was the truth, if only half of it. But that was need-to-know information and Thorin did not have a need to know. And she did not think she could explain the awkwardness of it all when she did not even understand where that was coming from herself. It puzzled her, but she did not have a reasonable explanation for it.

Now she had managed to shock him. 'Are you certain?' The way he made it sound was like she had just made a very foolish decision, even if she could not see how that was the case.

Kate nodded. 'Yes, of course I am. Now, can we go to dinner? I'm starving and I want to bet you haven't eaten since yesterday. We can't have the king going weak now, can we?'

This time he did let her get up, giving her a wry look to go with it. 'You are spending too much time around Dori,' he commented.

She snorted. 'And Balin says I am spending too much time around you. There's just no pleasing you dwarves sometimes, is there?' It felt good to bring back a somewhat lighter mood, but this did remind her of something. 'And one piece of advice, better not grab my wrist again like that. Some people here are seriously getting the wrong ideas from that.'

* * *

From Thorin's notes: _What does she mean by that?_

* * *

**That's it for today. This was a very difficult chapter to write and I apologise that Thorin's part seemed to be more of a character study than a story, but I think it was necessary. I really like to hear your thoughts about it.**

**On that note, a big thank you for all the reviews for last chapter. I think I replied to all of them, but I'm not sure, so if I missed out on one, it's really appreciated a lot! **

**And I think I've got good news. Real life is quietening down a little, so I'm trying to resume my normal update scheme as of this week, which means the next update will be Wednesday. I seriously missed writing last week and so I'd like to get back to it as soon as possible.**

**So, next time there are some big decisions being made. In the meantime, please review?**


	33. Chapter 33 Plans

**Chapter 33**

**Plans**

_This was definitely a new development in our working relationship, even if the rest of the company was clearly eager to see more in it than there actually was. But at least as long as Thorin was within hearing distance they kept their silence and I was grateful for it. Because at this point in time I do not think that we were anything more than friends. Maybe all our companions were just blessed with some gift of foresight or other, but any different kind of relationship was still in the future and that suited me just fine, because I didn't think I was ready for it._

_But if they made any more comments, then they made them out of our earshot. And I am grateful for that, because something tells me that they weren't much more respectful than the remarks you lot made about Narvi when he first started courting Duria – and yes, I was actually aware of that and if you had not stopped of your own volition eventually, then your father would have put an end to them. At any rate, I didn't appreciate the comments any better than you, dear Duria, but apparently that is something one has to put up with when living with dwarves._

_And the gossip mill would be all up and running after our little chat in the woods and I'm afraid that when we retreated to the spot next to the harp, where we had sat ourselves down the previous night, we confirmed a lot of suspicions that I had a hard job correcting in the following days._

_Because, contrary to popular belief, we were actually not being all lovey-dovey in that faraway corner of the house. We were concerned with far more pressing business…_

**Kate**

Kate was only too well aware that more than one pair of eyebrows was raised as Thorin and she took off after dinner. She tried to ignore them, even if all this suspicions about things that were not even going on set her teeth on edge. She had already exploded once and she was in a lot of danger of doing it again, but so far Thorin's very presence had helped in keeping the tongues more or less silent. The advisor however had no doubt that the moment they were out of earshot, the speculating among her new friends would begin anew. Quite honestly she was surprised that none of them had started betting on how long it would take them to get together. Oh well, they could be doing that behind her back for all she knew, but she wasn't in a hurry to find out. And actually she hoped that Dori would be able to keep the overenthusiastic dwarves in check.

She caught Kíli making a very suggestive waggle of the eyebrows, not unlike he had done in Rivendell and she growled. 'How can you not notice?' she complained to the dwarf king, who had laid a map of Mirkwood on the floor between them.

That seemed to confuse him for a moment. 'What is it I should have noticed?'

Kate was tempted to roll her eyes at him, but refrained from doing so. 'How everyone seems to be thinking we are an item,' she clarified. 'Good grief, man, are you really that unobservant?'

Now his eyebrows raised as well. 'An item?' he repeated. It was quite obvious that he had never heard the word before.

And Kate gave herself a mental scolding for not remembering that there were still words and sayings from her own world that were entirely alien to the dwarves. Most of the ones she used more frequently she had explained by now, and sometimes she just forgot about them not knowing, like just now.

'A couple,' she translated, feeling very much like a glorified dictionary right here and now. 'It's apparently not only elves and goblins who believe there is a lot more going on between us.' As embarrassing as it was to discuss this with the man she was supposedly in love with, he would have the power to make his company shut their mouths and that was more important than her feelings of awkwardness. 'And Balin and Kíli are by far the worst of the lot.' She snorted. 'I can't believe that you have not heard the remarks they're making.'

The expression on Thorin's face would suggest that he had truly not heard what their companions were saying and doing, but then, most of the comments had been made when he was not within earshot, so Kate supposed she could not really blame him for not knowing. That did not mean however that she was prepared to put up with this nonsense any longer than she had to and she would get Thorin to end it if she could. After all, it was his personal life they were speculating about as well and the dwarf king didn't seem like the type to let people get away with that.

His face remained stoical, but he nodded. 'I will see to it,' he promised.

'Good,' she said, directing her attention towards the maps that were spread out on the floor. They could have sat down at the table, but the risk of some of their companions coming over to see it all for themselves was too great and the advisor knew that at least for now Thorin wanted to keep the information to themselves.

But the dwarves weren't overly interested in what was in the book. They only seemed to care about Kate being able to use that knowledge, but none of them seemed to desire it for themselves, which was a little strange to Kate. The company was content to follow. Had she been home and this had been a company of twenty-first century people, Kate was sure they'd have demanded access to the knowledge, claiming that these were not the Dark Ages anymore and that they had a right to know. That, she pondered, was one aspect of life there that she certainly did not miss.

This was just another culture, with a different set of rules and etiquette. Things were so different here and while confusing and hugely irritating from time to time, to the advisor it felt like a kinder society. The dwarves were in somewhat in a hurry, but the hurry felt like a different kind of hurry than from what she was used to at home. There was less stress here and that was something she wished could be applied to her own world as well.

That didn't mean that the responsibility she was now obviously carrying was any less, but it was less suffocating now that she was more or less sharing it with the dwarf king. True king and advisor they were now indeed. A small voice in the back of her head whispered that it had always been meant to be this way and that both of them had been wasting valuable time in not acknowledging that fact any earlier. Kate told it to shut up.

'We do have two options,' she pointed out to distract herself. 'There's the Old Forest Road south of here and the elven path Beorn will advise us to take.' She had picked up the copy of _The Hobbit_ again, opening it at the page that showed the map of the Wilderland. 'Or four options,' she corrected herself. 'If you consider going round Mirkwood north or south options at all.'

Thorin shook his head. 'If we go round north our route will take us too close to Mount Gundabad.'

Kate frowned, trying to remember. 'Quite infested with goblins and orcs it was, right?'

Thorin's gaze turned positively murderous and Kate wondered if she had said anything wrong. 'I'm sorry, did I say something?' Sometimes she could really curse the fact that there were just so many things about dwarves in general and Thorin in particular that she was unaware of. It caused her to say things they regarded as painful and tactless, even though she had not even meant to cause offence.

'Gundabad was once a dwarven kingdom.' Thorin's reply was curt and it didn't take an expert to establish that this was just another reason for him to hate orcs the way he did. The more stories she heard, the more she came to understand that orcs and dwarves were longstanding enemies and that Thorin's hatred of them was not all that uncommon. 'Before the orcs took it.'

'I'm sorry,' she said again. 'I really did not mean to reopen old wounds.' That was the kind of thing a friend said, wasn't it? But really, Gundabad had been in orcish hands since before Thorin was born, wasn't it? How long could dwarves possibly keep a grudge?

But she did feel sorry for him. The dwarf race did not seem to have it easy. All she heard was struggle for survival left, right and centre. It was hardly a wonder they were fighting so hard to reclaim their home. Their desire to have a place they could call their own, where they could live as the proud people that they were, not being looked down upon as she knew happened now.

She had seen it for herself when they had stayed in Bree for the night. There were whispers and barely concealed hostility. She had to do her shopping by herself, because most shop owners would not allow dwarves into their shops for fear they would steal something, which admittedly was probably wholly justified where Nori was concerned. But the others were all honest and trustworthy, not that the town's people acted like it. Clearly it was all right to have dwarves as workers in town, but they were about as welcome as orcs when they were guests in it.

And then there had been the worried glances people had sent in her direction that had set her teeth on edge. The innkeeper had even gone as far as to discreetly suggest that she was welcome to stay in Bree if she needed to escape. The man's concern had been genuine, she could tell, and at that time she had wanted to go home more than anything, but staying in Bree was hardly going to get her there and so she had politely declined, telling him that she was travelling with the dwarves out of her own free will. That wasn't quite the truth, but it at least put the man's nerves to rest, even if he had been staring at her as if he thought she had lost her mind.

The only reply she got this time around was a curt nod, so she went back to the maps again. 'Going around south is out of the question for the obvious reasons,' she went on. If there was one thing Kate was adamant about, then it was that she did not intend to go any nearer to Dol Guldur if she could help it. The place had been scary enough in the movie and she had no ambition to see it up close.

Thorin nodded again. 'We must choose between the Old Forest Road and the elven path,' he confirmed.

'And neither sounds very appealing,' Kate admitted. Mirkwood had been one of the things she dreaded most, maybe even more so than the dragon. It sounded like a dark damp place by all accounts and none of the roads leading through it sounded particularly safe. It would be up to them to choose the lesser evil, but it remained evil still. 'And I'm not even sure I'm feeling up to choosing either one.' It might not be what he expected from an advisor, but it was an honest answer at least and Thorin valued honesty a lot, so she had come to learn.

'Gandalf will want us to take the elven path,' he predicted, almost implying that he would not want to take that path solely for that reason. And Kate was having that urge as well; to do the opposite of what the wizard wanted if only to be free of his manipulating ways, to not give in to him too much, as she felt they had been doing since the start of this journey.

The wizard had returned just before dinner, but both Thorin and Kate had avoided him a little. Kate could do without the confrontation after the unfortunate pipe incident and Thorin had a dislike of the wizard in general, something Kate could not fault him for even if she wished to, which she didn't.

'No doubt,' she muttered. 'And that path will lead us to that dangerous enchanted river, close to spiders and far too close to the elven settlement. Look at this,' she pointed. 'If the map in the book is to believed, then the path will lead us right past the elves. And I do not think they will let us pass in a hurry, do you?'

Thorin shook his head. 'But the Old Forest Road is longer and, according to your book, non-existent near the eastern entrance. Orcs do make frequent use of the road leading to the Old Forest Road itself and it will take us further away from Erebor.'

This reminded Kate of brainstorming sessions with her colleagues. It was both familiar and nice to be doing, because she knew that this was something she could actually do, even when they were discussing the crossing of a territory that was by all means dangerous. But she was back in her element and she could hardly help enjoying that. And the fact that the two of them were actually doing this, without the constant arguments and fights, that made her enjoy this even more. Thorin had yet to pull rank on her – something he tended to do whenever he started to find her annoying – and that was a novelty as well. It also felt a bit surreal, too good to be true, she supposed.

She leaned back. 'So, now we have established that neither is exactly ideal,' she said. 'And the Old Forest Road is more than hundred miles longer than the Forest Path. It's a huge detour we would be making. And it takes us closer to Dol Guldur than the path.'

'While the Forest Path will take us nearer to elves and spiders and an enchanted river,' Thorin threw back. 'And if your book is right, we will encounter elves and spend quite some time in their dungeons. That way we will lose as much time as we would taking the Old Forest Road. I do not believe elves will come there, not that close to Dol Guldur.'

Kate nodded. It did make sense. She bent over the map again. 'Look, this map says that there are spiders close to the road.'

'But not as near the road as they are near the path,' Thorin countered.

Kate could feel what he was trying to say, and perhaps what she herself wanted to say as well. If she had listened right, then both of them wished for the company to take the Men-i-Naugrim. Maybe it was the knowing what awaited them on the Forest Path that urged them to try the unknown, because it could not be worse than what they would already know to be happening.

Yet this was frightening at the same time. So far she had more or less known what was going to happen and that had reassured her, because she had always known that they would be all right in the end. No matter what the danger, there was always the knowledge of the book to reassure her that things would work out and they would survive. She would not have that knowledge if they decided here today that they would chart their own path, something the book didn't say anything about.

_Oh, will you stop trying to fool yourself here?_ Common sense had been rather quiet lately, but apparently now was the perfect time to start rearing its ugly head again. _Since when do you have any control over any situation? You've never really had that, so please don't try to be as arrogant as to think that you have. _

Kate swallowed, realising that, no matter how much she hated it, it was the truth. She never had any control over anything, simply because she was too weak to change anything and against Gandalf's meddling she was even more powerless. Now was the first time she could truly do something, truly change something and yet she found she shied away from it for fear of the consequences.

'There'll still be the matter of food,' she remarked thoughtfully. To her it felt like the decision was already made now that they seemed to have moved on to the technicalities, even if the decision had not been spoken out loud. 'And water. The book states our supplies won't last the duration of the journey on the Forest Path and that's a good deal shorter than the other road.' She tried to remember the book's contents. 'Hunting in the forest itself will not do us any good either, if I recall that correctly.'

'We will hunt before the forest and leave our supplies untouched as long as we can.' If Thorin's tone of voice was any indication he had made his choice and he would stand by it. It was the kind of dwarf that he was.

Kate could feel the excitement, could feel the luring call of breaking free from Gandalf's scheming and make her own way. It was still frightening and she knew there would be more than one occasion that she would regret this choice. On the other hand she also knew that she would regret it as well if she chose the Forest Path over the Old Forest Road. Neither was perfect, both were dangerous. The dangers they would face were just of another nature, but Mirkwood was perilous in and out of itself. There were no safe roads through it. And they had to choose one.

She bit her lip. 'You've chosen, have you not?'

He met her gaze steadily. 'As have you,' he countered.

At that she had to smile a little sheepishly. He was right of course. Both of them had made a choice here. Kate could not even really say when she had done that, but now that she checked, she had. It made her stomach tie itself up with the nerves, but there was a happy kind of excitement as well. It felt like she was on the verge of doing something world-shocking – she was not quite sure it was that impressive, although she would not rule out the option of this being Gandalf-shocking – like she was really doing something to change the future, as she had been brought here to do. The longer she stayed here, the closer she became tied to these dwarves and their quest. Oh, who was she fooling really? She already was tied to this quest. The oath had taken care of that quite effectively. _I swear that this quest is also my quest from now on until the day the task has been completed_. There was nothing to be misunderstood about that.

Kate bit her lip again. 'We would need to plan this very carefully,' she said. 'If we want to pull this off successfully, we need to know what we're doing.'

This earned her a curt nod of the head. It almost surprised her that he not yet told her that she was rather stating the obvious. Maybe that oath exchange had changed more in their working relationship than she had believed possible. She found she rather liked the whole idea. Come to think of it, had he even snapped at her since then? She searched her memory and found that he had indeed not. Progress indeed.

But she had to be careful how to act. Maybe friendships between men and women did not really happen all that much around here. If that was the case, then it would explain why the dwarves were all too quick to spot a relationship that wasn't even there. She had not yet forgotten that dreaded drawing of Ori's and she really could do without all her companions thinking she was romantically involved with Thorin, especially when there was nothing more than friendship between them.

And she had found that she liked it, the friendship. She did not think the absence of shouting would last forever, but it was a different kind of shouting now. There was no hatred in it anymore.

'We do need to tell Gandalf,' she suddenly remembered, grimacing. If the wizard was still hell-bent on following the book, then it was almost sure that he was not going to like what they had decided here tonight. And dislike was most likely the understatement of the century.

One corner of Thorin's mouth curled up. 'We do,' he agreed.

Kate suddenly found herself dreading that particular conversation. Lately all her fights seemed to be with the company wizard and not with the dwarf king she had clashed so often with over the last months. And there was no doubt that Gandalf would not approve of what they were planning to do. The company would follow without question – Kate suspected they would follow Thorin to the mouth of hell if need be – but Gandalf would be another matter entirely.

She stole a glance at Gandalf, who was seated at the table, doing some mysterious wizard business. 'We can always wait till morning,' she proposed. 'If he were to start shouting now, he would wake everyone within a one mile radius.'

Thorin was no fool. She was quite sure he knew exactly what she was doing, but where it would have annoyed him before, he was only amused now. 'Or he will inform us that the road is not fit for traveling,' he commented. 'Maybe we will even find it blocked.'

Kate chuckled. 'Blocked as in like the safe pass road was blocked, you mean? Tell you what, I think this time I do like to go and see it for myself.' Was she truly exchanging witticisms with Thorin Oakenshield here? Something must be seriously wrong with her brain if that was the case. And since when was Thorin one to joke? So far she had never seen much of that side to him, but it was clearly there. And she liked it. It made her feel accepted. And that may be something she had been trying to avoid for the past few months, but it was also something she craved. After all, if she was not going to go home anytime soon, what harm could it do to be one of the group, if only for a little while?

**Thorin**

Thorin did not really remember falling asleep, but when he was dragged back to consciousness by the booming voice of Beorn, he found himself with his head on what appeared to be some map or other. He had a faint recollection of walking back to his bedroll with the maps and Kate's book to figure out some last details, but he must have dozed off while he was busy. That was a weakness that was not very like him. Thorin was used to be able to do whatever he wished without being hindered by fatigue, but if he was really honest he would have to admit that reading the book had taken a toll on his energy. Kate's promise about trying to guard his mental health had somewhat reassured him, but it kept nagging at the back of his mind, demanding that he started to worry about it all over again, even when it would be no use at all.

The rest of the company had clearly not been quite ready to wake just yet if the grumpy faces now emerging from above the blankets were anything to go by. Only Óin seemed to have slept through it, or he pretended to. When it came to things he wanted to hear, he seemed to be very capable of hearing them, a fact that had not escaped the king's notice.

'It's only seven in the morning,' a voice close by moaned.

Thorin looked in the direction of the source of the noise and found himself looking at a very sleepy advisor, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Her hair was once again sticking out in every direction. It seemed to be a part of her as much as that sharp tongue that Thorin so often had been on the receiving end of.

'Soon we'll be on the road again,' he reminded her sternly. 'You'll have to wake earlier than that when that time arrives. You better get used to it.'

Her eyes were narrowed to prevent the light from flooding in, but he recognised the trademark glare when he saw it. 'You really are a little ray of sunshine, are you not?' For some reason it felt reassuring that some things had not changed. He snorted. It would just not be like Kate to go from snappy to this kind and understanding friend, even if he was starting to suspect that she truly had a more caring side to her as well. It just did not show that much.

He did not take the trouble to react to that, choosing instead to get up and walk over to the table for breakfast. Judging by the mumbling he heard from coming behind him he suspected the advisor was following. A quick look over his shoulder taught him he was right in that assumption. She was trying to sort her hair out somewhat, to absolutely no avail.

'I'll take care of that,' Dori promised when he saw her struggling with the unruly locks.

He was rewarded with a wary look for his troubles. 'No offence, Dori, but I don't think I am quite ready for your experimenting with my hair. I appreciate the offer, but no, thanks.'

Thorin hid his smirk by taking a gulp of water. Not that he could blame the advisor for being a bit wary when it came to letting her oldest brother anywhere near her hair. If Ori's hair was anything to go by, then he understood why she politely refused, because for Kate this was being polite.

'I can help,' Kíli spoke up, far too enthusiastic for this early in the morning.

Kate still looked doubtful. 'What is this with you lot and wanting to play with my hair?' Oh yes, there was definitely wariness.

'We're friends now, are we not?' Thorin's youngest nephew was just looking a little too innocent. 'You let Thorin do it, didn't you?'

The wariness was written all over Kate's face now, but Thorin did not quite understand why. Kíli was speaking the truth and nothing wrong with that. But the advisor seemed to have read something into it that the dwarf king had apparently missed out on. 'Kíli…' Her voice was low and warning.

'It's the truth,' said dwarf defended himself, but this time there was a grin that Thorin did not entirely trust. It made him feel like he was missing the point of something he should have been aware of and that was not a feeling he liked at all. He was used to being on top of things and not knowing or being kept in the dark had the tendency to make him rather irritable.

'It's your pipe,' Kate reminded him, causing some of the others to laugh. 'Honestly guys, knock it off. I've heard just one comment too many lately.'

That triggered a memory of the night before. _It's apparently not only elves and goblins who believe there is a lot more going on between us. And Balin and Kíli are by far the worst of the lot. _He recalled that Kate said something like that. And it was followed by the memory from the previous afternoon. _Better not grab my wrist again like that. Some people here are seriously getting the wrong ideas from that_.

And then he realised what was going on here. 'Enough, Kíli,' he told the archer as sternly as he could manage. If Kate was right and this was what he now feared it to be, then it had gone on for far too long already. But he would not defend his actions. That was almost the same thing as confirming what his men were apparently thinking. No, pulling rank would be the best solution here. And that he did.

His sister-son at least had the decency to look somewhat ashamed, confirming Thorin's suspicions. Mahal, they really believed that he had fallen for a human woman. The absurdity of it made him snort dismissively. They were not just encouraging it, as he had believed Balin to be doing, this was far more than that. They believed it had already happened. No, absurd would not even begin to cover it and Kat's face told them all she shared Thorin's opinion. What a strange coincidence that the one who was supposedly his lover was the only one to agree with him on this account.

He had no patience for this foolery. He had a quest to lead and it would by no means be easy. He would stand by his decision to take the Old Forest Road, the Men-i-Naugrim, instead of the elven path they would take according to Kate's book. That book still frightened him, but he had sworn to use it, and that he would. And if using it meant that he would avoid spiders, elves and an enchanted river that took people's memory, then he would do that.

For him it was not only the safer option, it was also a way to break free from Gandalf's endless meddling in affairs that did not concern him. It was not only the option that seemed best to him, but he felt like he had to prove that he was not bound to this book. He could and would change things if only he could. Taking a different route was his way to show that he was not doomed to do everything that this book wanted him to do and he suspected that Kate felt like that as well.

Beorn had been treating them to the story of what he had found out about the orcs' behaviour while he had been thinking, but the mention of the Defiler's name snapped him back into the here and now.

'He survived?' The question came out in a growl.

Beorn's eyes studied him and Thorin had the uncomfortable feeling the skin-changer could see right through him, something that rather unnerved him. 'That he did, Thorin, son of Thráin,' he boomed, but the dwarf suspected that was more out of habit. The man did not seem like one capable of whispers. 'Limping he was, though.'

Kate was looking incredibly smug all of a sudden. The dwarf had a faint recollection of a bleeding wound on Azog's leg after he had attacked the advisor. Perhaps she had remembered more of Dwalin's lessons than he had believed possible.

'I am glad of that at least,' he replied. 'What of his plans?' This may be a little less polite than he had intended, but the very thought of Azog still out there, still hunting him, it caused shivers down his spine. And he'd rather die than show any of his unease to his companions. They expected him to remain strong and unwavering. To falter now would destroy their confidence in him and that was something he could not allow to happen.

'A very determined fellow he is, the Defiler.' It was good to hear the snarl with which that had been spoken. 'This side of the mountains may soon be crawling with his minions, for he does not take defeat well. You will be hunted, Thorin Oakenshield.'

The dwarf forced himself to meet the bear-man's eyes. 'I have been hunted all this journey. I will not run away now and abandon my quest and my people.' And he had known the risk he took as he set out on this quest.

But Azog's continued existence did unnerve him. That had not been the case in the book, but it had been in the other version of the tale the advisor had mentioned several times. But when he had asked her about that last night, she had said that this version ended after their encounter with the eagles. They were going blind on this and that unnerved him even more, because he was fully aware that Azog would not rest before he had ended the line of Durin. And in the book it were Fíli, Kíli and Thorin himself that died, the last male descendants of Thrór. He didn't know for sure if Kate had realised this, but Thorin had and it was frightening, not that he would admit this to anyone. It was his burden to bear, his alone.

Beorn was looking almost impressed, favouring him with a respectful nod of the head. 'You will have all the help that I can offer, Thorin, son of Thráin. Many orcs and goblins have been slain by you and your company. Yes, I shall think more kindly of dwarves after this.' His face split in what his enemies no doubt would call a terrifying grin. 'Killed the Great Goblin, crippled the Defiler…' The huge man chuckled. 'Oh, I shall like dwarves better than I did before.'

That was a relief, but one he would not admit out loud. Thorin was convinced that the skin-changer only liked them better because of their shared hatred of orcs, goblins and wargs. All he had heard about this man told Thorin that there were very few things Beorn hated as much as those and that was something the dwarf king could relate to.

'We will accept any help you are willing to offer graciously,' he told him. He hated the need to humiliate himself like that, but if they were to cross Mirkwood successfully, then they needed all the help they could get. Pride would gain them nothing, but lose them everything. And with the success of the quest on the line, that was not a risk he was prepared to take. Once Erebor was theirs again, then he could afford to be proud, not before. 'And we will burden you with our presence no longer than tomorrow,' he added. 'We must away soon if we wish to reach the Mountain before Durin's Day.' He was convinced they could make it in time, even with the detour, especially if they did not linger in Esgaroth for the full two weeks the book claimed. They would need to press on, but they could do it.

Gandalf looked at him. 'Now, I am sure that if we leave for the north tomorrow…' he began.

'But we won't go north,' the advisor spoke up loudly, effectively silencing all other conversation around the table. Thorin knew that tone. She was about to confront the wizard, and she was bracing herself for the worst. Thorin could not blame her for doing that. This decision was bound to vex the grey wizard enormously and their previous fights had been spectacular. 'We'll be taking the Old Forest Road.' Her eyes almost dared the wizard to contradict her.

'Three pieces of gold says that the wizard loses the argument,' Nori whispered at Glóin who was sitting next to him. Thorin could only hear it because he was seated close to them. Fortunately the advisor was on the other end of the table. Something told him she would not appreciate this development.

Glóin laughed. 'Better hand them over already, lad. The woman doesn't stand a chance against him.'

But Thorin disagreed. If he had been a betting kind of dwarf, he'd have gone with Nori. Because this was a battle fought with words and Thorin had every intention to help her win it. They had made this decision together, so he would not leave her to deal with the consequences on her own.

'Dear girl,' Gandalf began.

'No use arguing the point,' she told him. 'We are aware of the dangers.' The advisor had her arms wrapped around her torso, giving every appearance of not going to back down anytime soon. If he knew her at all, then the more Gandalf protested, the more stubborn Kate would be about it.

And Thorin decided to step in. 'The elven path will have its own dangers,' he said, fixing Gandalf with his sternest stare. 'The Men-i-Naugrim will be a longer road, but it will not take us near giant spiders, past elven settlements or to rivers that take one's memories when one comes into contact with it.'

'Orcs do make frequent use of the way leading to the Old Forest Road,' Beorn spoke up. 'You choose a dangerous path for yourself, Thorin Oakenshield.'

He knew that. But no matter which way he turned, he would never be out of danger. It would follow him wherever he went, regardless of which road he took. Azog would hunt him, bound by the oath he had taken to wipe out Thrór's line. He would never be safe as long as that monster lived. Either Azog or Thorin had to die before this feud would come to an end, he knew that. He also knew that this could not hold him back from the quest.

'Orcs we can fight,' he replied. 'Enchantments of forgetfulness we cannot.' The reasoning was simple and it was even better that there would be no arguing it.

Gandalf's eyebrows had knitted together as he frowned at both king and advisor, which was quite a feat since they were on other ends of the table. Too late Thorin remembered that the wizard had not yet been told that Kate had lent her book to Thorin, and by the looks of things, Gandalf was not in any way pleased to learn of it.

He rounded on Kate. 'What have you done?' he demanded.

'What I thought necessary,' she countered. 'And honestly, stop playing dumb. It really doesn't suit you. You knew I had given the book to Thorin. I as good as told you on the Great Shelf.'

Thorin could have sworn the temperature dropped a few degrees when Gandalf spoke again. 'You were meant to be advising,' he pointed out. The mention of _dear girl_ was missing, even if the tone was still perfectly polite.

'And so I am,' Kate countered. 'I do not know what your game is, Gandalf, but I am tired of playing it.' And she sounded it. There was anger there, plain for all to see, but underneath it was a weariness Thorin himself had felt on numerous occasions when his duties were weighing too heavily on him. A few days ago he could not have seen how Kate could feel the same thing, but now he could. And it did not suit her.

'You have no idea of what you may have unleashed, Miss Andrews!' Gandalf too was both angry and weary, his tone almost an exact copy of Kate's.

The advisor met his eyes. 'I have attempted to change something, like you wanted me to!' she shot back. 'And I think there actually was something about that in my contract, so don't you start complaining now!' She shoved her chair back with so much force that it toppled over and crashed to the ground. 'Start making up your bloody mind, will you?' She stormed out without another word.

This had her brothers on their feet, all three of them. Their attitude was admirable, but the last thing they could use here was a fight over this. 'Enough!' he bellowed, slamming his fist on the table for good measure, making the cups on it rattle with the force of it. 'We will take the southern route and that's the last of it. Dori, Nori, Ori, sit _down_!' The command ended in a snarl.

His patience was wearing thin and he was trying to tell himself that Kate's reaction had nothing to do with it. But it had and he knew he was only fooling himself. It was the nature of friendship, after all. When a friend was, for whatever reason, upset, then it affected their friends as well. This just had the minor complication that he had no idea how to comfort her. Male friends were easy. All it usually took was some hours of his time and a few ales and then he could let them spat their problems. And admittedly, after a few ales, they could laugh about it and all was well again.

If only things were as simple as that where women were concerned. He had tried it, when Dís was upset, once, long ago. He had gotten insult and the mug of ale flown in his face for the trouble, so that was clearly not the way to go about it. Fortunately his sister had married not long after so that he could leave that business to her husband.

Unfortunately he had no such luck here, since the advisor wasn't married and by all accounts, no matter what his men said and thought, wasn't likely to do so in the foreseeable future. Now of course he could let her brothers take care of the task, but they were still far too angry to calm themselves, never mind their sister. Balin would be willing to go, but his calm was more likely to enrage Kate than appease her. No, it would appear that the job was Thorin's, no matter how much he dreaded it.

So he sent the Ri brothers to help with clearing up the breakfast table, dismissed the others do whatever they wanted and then went out to find the advisor. That turned out to be a rather easy job. It had rained last night, so the ground was soft, and Kate had left footprints leading directly to the spot where he had sat the previous day and where the advisor had found him. This time the roles seemed to have been reversed.

The woman was sitting on the ground, eyes swollen and red. She looked up when she saw him and quickly tried to remove any evidence of her crying, for which Thorin was grateful. He had no idea what to do with upset females, never mind crying ones. 'Yes, I know!' she said, raising a hand, forestalling anything he might have said. 'I'm acting like a child. So do me a favour and get lost. I'll be back in a minute.'

He remembered this behaviour from the Misty Mountains, when she had lashed out when she was hurt as well. And his attempts to get her back to her normal behaviour had not worked at all. He didn't get his hopes up that he could do it now, but he had to do something. 'Gandalf has given in,' he informed her, hoping that this was the best way to cheer her up. And she didn't need to know that he had more ordered Gandalf than that the wizard had backed off of his own volition. 'He will not bother you any longer.'

She looked up and glared at him. 'Trying to be a social worker again?' she demanded.

He fixed her with a stern glare. 'No.'

She snorted. 'And thank goodness for that. You're making a mess of it.' She sent him a wry grin. 'Sorry, I don't know what came over me.' The teasing tone had disappeared as soon as it had come. 'It's just… Sometimes it feels like the success of this mission rests on my shoulders, what with me knowing the book. And the others all seem to think that I can change everything. But what if I can't? What if we made the wrong choice by taking the southern road? And then it'll be all my fault and I don't know how to handle that. And sometimes it just feels that it doesn't matter what I do or which way I turn. Whatever I do it never seems to please anyone entirely.'

The words came spilling out of her mouth so fast he almost couldn't make them out. And there were so many emotions he would rather run in the opposite direction than to stay here and try to comfort her, for all that his comforting might do. But she had been there when he had doubted everything and everyone, but mostly himself. Kate had even gone as far as to swear another oath to reassure him. That grounded him in place. He owed her for this. This just left the minor problem of still not knowing how to handle this situation to deal with.

'You will not fail,' he told her. 'We will see this done.'

That got him her undivided attention. She brushed the last tears away and got to her feet, arching an eyebrow at him. 'We?'

The word had escaped his mouth without him even realising, but he'd said it already, so he nodded. 'Aye.'

There was the barest hint of a smile on her face. 'I don't know why, but I quite like the sound of that.'

As did he. And he could not quite understand why he felt like that.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _You know, I quite liked Gandalf the way he was portrayed in the books and movies and I can still see those reasons why I like the character in the real Gandalf. I only wished he would not keep as many secrets as he does. If only I could know why he acts as he does! I think I would like him better then._

* * *

**That's it for today. I hope you liked this turn of events. It had been in the planning for a while, so I hope I didn't make a mess out of things. **

**Next time they will be on the road again. Until then, please review?**


	34. Chapter 34 Assumptions

**Chapter 34**

**Assumptions**

_The day passed in a buzz of activity. I think it would be fair to say that we were more active than Beorn's bee colonies in high summer. Beorn himself was not too charmed by our plans and I could partially understand that. The Men-i-Naugrim was a dangerous road, what with orcs making frequent use of it and Azog was still hunting us. But I agreed with Thorin here: we would be hunted no matter which way we turned. Who was to say that the Defiler would not have followed us on the elven path? He would follow us anywhere, and he hadn't struck me as the type to let a dark forest, giant spiders and a bunch of elves keep him from his revenge._

_So, with that ruled out as an argument, the southern route seemed safer to both Thorin and me. Beorn was none too pleased with it, but he understood our reasoning and kept his word to help us as much as he could. I suspected he only did so because our company had seriously harmed the goblins and our host hated goblins and orcs more than any other race in Middle Earth._

_In truth I felt like a leader that day. I was used to bossing my colleagues and fellow students about when I was trying to get some major project done in time, since the others never seemed to care much for deadlines at all. In the company I had not been able – or willing – to do that, but Thorin charged me with making sure everything was ready before the morning, because that was when we would depart. He wanted to be back on the road again and I understood his restlessness. The longer we lingered here, the bigger the chance that Azog would find us and only heaven knew what would become of us then. _

_And so I spent most of my day bullying Bofur and Dori into mending clothes that had been torn, helping Beorn in the kitchen to get as much food prepared as we would be able to carry and studying maps with Thorin, Beorn and Gandalf. The latter was unusually quiet, making me suspect that Thorin's claim that he would make the wizard shut up was not as big a lie as I had believed it to be._

_And it helped to keep busy. I hardly had a moment to myself, hardly a moment to think and at the time I liked that. It has been my way of keeping calm ever since. Mahal knows it helped me to keep calm every time I knew Thorin – or one of you lot – had once again charged headfirst into some dangerous situation or other. _

_At any rate, the day flew by. I think I just fell asleep before I was even lying on my bedroll, but when morning came, it still came far too soon already…_

**Kate**

The nerves settled in Kate's stomach comfortably the very moment she opened her eyes. Sleep had allowed her several hours of oblivion, but the waking of noisy dwarves dragged her back to consciousness before the sun had even crept over the horizon. Today would be the day everything changed. Well, technically that would have been yesterday, but up to now they had always the chance to change their mind and turn north instead of south.

She pretended to be asleep for a little longer to get the mess that her mind was sorted out. She was not even sure why she had broken down like that yesterday morning. Maybe it was the weight of responsibility. It felt suffocating. She had been aware of it before now, when she had revealed her knowledge of the book to everyone within shouting distance after escaping Goblin-town. But it was only now that she truly started to use it, truly got the chance to use it, that it became a burden. While this was what she had been fighting for, now that the moment was there, she found it terrifying up to a point that she wanted to hide underneath the blankets and never resurface in order not to face the consequences of the choices she had made.

But that would be the coward's way out. And she was not a coward. In a few minutes she would get up, pack up her belongings and move out with the rest of them. And she was not truly alone in this, not after that pact she had made with Thorin, which still felt surreal to her. Kate had gotten to know the dwarf king as a grumpy kind of individual, who did not seem to have the words kindness, patience and social behaviour in his vocabulary. Yet he was the only one in this company who knew the full tale and, strangely enough, the only one who knew some of her deepest fears.

Now that was puzzling. What on earth had ever possessed her to be so open with him? It was not like he even remotely cared for what was haunting her mind, was it? Maybe he did care more than before, now that they were officially friends. They were even starting to behave like they were indeed friends, which was a novelty in and out of itself. But the advisor still didn't feel comfortable baring her soul to the king. He had enough on his plate without her concerns added to the load and yesterday had proven once more that he had actually no idea how to deal with this.

So what she missed most was someone to talk to, to really talk to, but she did not feel she could burden her brothers or new friends with her troubles. Thorin had been right not wanting them to panic because of the things that were still ahead, so they were ruled out. The same was true for Gandalf. He may know the book and the movie, but Kate and he did not like one another very much right now, so he would probably be the last person she would even want to talk to. And he would be leaving their company soon enough anyway. He had announced that at dinner last night. He would accompany them to Mirkwood, but then his own road would lead him further south, towards Dol Guldur.

That was something he of course had not said to them, but Kate was no fool. He would join the White Council to drive Sauron out of that ancient fortress, which hopefully would mean that Mr Necromancer had more important things to do than bothering a company of dwarves that journeyed over the Men-i-Naugrim. She had explained that to Thorin, who, oh wonder, had agreed with her. Miracles obviously never ceased. Who knows, they might even make it out of Mirkwood more or less unscathed.

A hand shook her shoulder gently. 'Kate, are you awake?' That was Dori.

Kate yawned and cracked an eye open. 'I am now. What time is it?'

'Not yet dawn,' her oldest brother told her. 'Come on, Thorin wants to leave within the hour.'

'No doubt,' she muttered. She shed the blanket and stood up, noticing that all her companions were already up and nearly ready to leave. Dori must have let her sleep as long as he could to give her as long as he could to rest. He truly cared for his family and Kate felt touched. 'Thanks for letting me sleep, Dori.'

He gave a her a curt nod and a warm smile. A quick glance towards Ori's bedroll taught her that her brother had gotten the same treatment. It made her smile a little. It was a kindness Jacko would show her every now and then as well. It reminded her of home and that was a welcome memory.

Beorn had set out breakfast for them and Kate found she had quite an appetite. And this was the last time she'd have some decent meal, she knew. Thorin had decreed that they would go on rations as soon as they were on the road again. The advisor had spent most of the previous day trying to stuff as much supplies in packs as she could, effectively pillaging Beorn's pantry, at his insistence, so she did not feel too guilty over it. she only hoped it would be enough to last throughout the journey. When they came out of Mirkwood on the other side, they could hunt and make sure they would not starve that way. And they would follow the River Running northwards from that point, so they could fish there as well. No, it would be Mirkwood that was going to be tough.

'I'm going to miss this,' Bombur said wistfully as he eyed his full plate.

'You and me both,' Kate pointed out. 'Along with the rest of the company. But it's going to be worth it, don't you think? After all, we are going to take back the Mountain and give that dragon a good kick in the behind.' At least that was one thing the book told her that Kate found she wanted to believe very much. And a bit of optimism had never been known to hurt anyone.

'You truly think so, lass?' Bombur didn't seem all too enthusiastic about the prospect and this puzzled the advisor a little.

'Why, yes,' she said, trying to keep up the optimistic attitude. 'You don't?' The best way to avoid having to give an answer was often to deflect the question, shoot it back at the one who had asked it first.

'I am not sure,' came the soft answer and Kate could not escape the notion that he did not want the others to be aware of his doubts.

And she could understand that, even if it did make her wonder. 'Why did you join up then?'

A friendly smile now graced his features. 'Ah, well, someone's got to look after them,' he replied, his eyes searching out his brother and cousin. The first was having a conversation with the company burglar while the latter was eating… were that flowers? Well, at least that drove the message home why at least Bifur would need some supervision. 'And if this succeeds, we'll have a home again. And we'll be rich.'

That seemed an important part of the quest for everyone involved. Almost every dwarf had so far been very enthusiastic about the prospect of getting riches beyond imagining. Strangely enough it was Thorin she had heard talking about that part of the quest the least. To think that he of all people should be the one to fall victim to the gold sickness was one of the strangest notions Kate had heard in a very long time. Yet he seemed to fear it more than anything else. Why that was she would probably never know. The dwarf king was as willing to share his secrets as a recalcitrant oyster was to share its pearl.

'Well, that's… great,' she replied a bit hesitantly. 'So, it'll be worth it, then? Even if we have to make do with rations for a while?'

Bombur didn't get the chance to respond to that, because Ori had gotten himself involved in the discussion. He was seated next to Kate and had therefore heard the conversation. 'You'll be rich too,' he told his adoptive sister. 'It says in your contract that you are entitled to a share of the treasure as well.' Leave it to Ori to figure something like that out. Honestly, she should not have been surprised that it was her brother the scribe who had discovered that. Knowing him he could probably quote her the entire thing word for word.

She turned to him. 'And what on earth am I supposed to do with treasure?' she questioned. 'I can hardly take it back with me now, can I?' She could already picture people's faces as she came marching in with more gold and jewels than she could carry. And then she would have to explain where she got it from, preferably with an explanation that would not get her shipped off to the nearest mental asylum or prison for suspected theft?

'Why not?' Nori chimed in. He clearly did not understand why that would in any way be problematic for her.

Kate was tempted to roll her eyes. 'Well, what would you do if someone you knew well disappeared for an extended period of time and then showed up with treasure he refused to give any explanation for?' she demanded.

'Why would you not give an explanation?' Now it was Kíli's turn to look puzzled and to Kate's absolute horror she realised that all her companions had fallen silent to follow her conversation. _Bugger these dwarves_.

'Well, it isn't normal for someone of my world to spend time in other worlds. That only happens in books and you lot are, to my world, storybook characters,' she explained, a little annoyed that they had not worked out that part for themselves. 'People would think that I had lost my mind and then I'd be locked away, either because they think I'm insane or because they believe I stole the treasure from somewhere.'

Now that seemed to make sense to some of them. Kate could see nodding and hear the understanding 'hm' from around the table.

'Glad we worked that out,' she muttered, taking a piece of bread from the table. 'Pass me the honey, will you, Fíli?'

Fíli did as she asked, but was clearly not ready to leave the subject alone, to Kate's great annoyance. 'So, what will you get out of the quest then?' he wondered, giving her an inquisitive look.

That gave her pause, because honestly, she had not spared that a moment's thought until now. Her main focus had been to come out of this crazy adventure alive and with all her limbs still in their proper places. The focus had been on getting home, not on the reward she would get. That had not even been on her mind at all, not when there were so many other things to concern herself with. And really, she would stand by that. The treasure had not been important before now and taken into account that she could not take it with her anyway greatly reduced its lure.

In the end she shrugged. 'I get to go back home again. I suppose that will be my reward.' And in truth that was all the reward she wanted. Go back home, figure something out to tell her family and the police and find a new job, because it would be safe to assume that she had lost the one she had before she had been spirited away. And really, there wasn't anything else that she wanted.

Some of the dwarves seemed horrified. 'That's not fair!' Kíli's voice was filled with righteous indignity. 'You're facing the same dangers we do. We have to reward you in some way!'

'Well, just leave it, will you?' The annoyance won out. Shouldn't they be happy that they got more of the treasure for themselves? Wasn't that the dwarvish way to react to situations like these? Sometimes she would swear she had them all worked out, but then they did or said something and she was left just as confused as before. Bugger these dwarves. 'We need to claim that Mountain and treasure first, don't you think, before we start arguing about what to do with it? Let's concentrate on that first, shall we?'

It was a good point to end the meal and Thorin used it as one. He got up from his chair and fixed the company with a stern stare. 'We'll move out within half an hour. Everyone who is not ready by then will be left behind and can catch us up.'

The king left the table and Kate took that as her cue to leave as well, before her companions could get back to arguing with her. She did not feel like worrying about this and given the fact that she was supposed to keep Thorin from succumbing to the gold lust, it would probably be strange if she herself would crave the wealth of the Mountain. But said king didn't really seem like the most likely candidate for a case of gold sickness, so maybe she should not be too eager to judge.

She grabbed her belongings and slipped outside while the others were still gathering their possessions. Beorn had provided them with ponies to ride until Mirkwood. After that they would have to make do on foot. The prospect of walking was not truly tempting, but taking ponies into the woods would not do them any good either. They would need to feed them on something and their supplies were all needed for themselves. It did make sense. It did not mean she liked the walking idea any better.

But at least they would not need to walk to Mirkwood and she counted her blessings. And it was another blessing that her companions at least had temporarily made her forget about her fear of making the wrong decision. Anger and annoyance always worked quite well in banning out fear and uncertainty and Kate was grateful for it. But now, as she strapped her luggage to the back of a patient pony they returned full force. Her mind, that had been only too quick to point out the advantages of this route two days ago, seemed now determined to remind her of everything that might just turn out not so well. The food supplies were one of the main concerns. According to the book they had not even lasted long enough on the shorter route, so how could they be sufficient for the longer way they were about to take? And she would readily admit, if only to herself, that the fact that there were indeed orcs on the Men-i-Naugrim did scare her. She was not good at swinging a sword around. But, like Thorin had said, orcs at least they could fight, enchanted rivers they could not. And this meant that she chose the orcs over the river. She may be useless with a sword, but at least a sword would be some use against an orc. It made her feel not entirely powerless. And surely that had to count for something.

'What are you doing?' a grumpy voice suddenly asked.

She had not heard anyone coming and the urge to jump was great, but fortunately her brain reminded her just in time that it was only Thorin. So she kept on strapping the blanket to the pony. 'Back to the stupid questions, are we?' she inquired. 'I'd have said it was obvious, but clearly not.' What on earth did he mean? She wasn't stupid. She could tell this wasn't about her making sure the pony was ready to go at the time Thorin wanted her to. This was about something else, something she apparently had done, but she could not come up with one thing that could justify such a reaction.

'Kate…' She knew that warning tone, only when it was directed at her it had mostly been her surname that was being spoken in such a manner. Well, maybe their friendship did have its uses then.

She turned around, frustrated both by Thorin and the blanket that refused to remain in place for some reason. 'What do you want, Thorin?' If the question came out a little snappy then that was purely coincidental. It had nothing to do with her frustration and fears whatsoever. Or that's what Kate told herself.

'The treasure,' he replied, taking over her task of securing the blanket and, to her annoyance, doing a much better and quicker job of it. _Bloody show-off_. 'Do you truly not take an interest?'

That was what was bothering him? Of all things to worry about? 'Should I?' she countered. 'Don't we all have far more important things on our mind than the bloody treasure right now?'

It earned her an arched eyebrow and an inquisitive stare that she found most unnerving. 'You truly do not wish for it?'

'Should I?' she repeated. Maybe it was strange. Most people clearly wanted nothing more than to be rich, to have wealth beyond imagining. It would be a logical question to be asking, the advisor supposed. But it was still quite early in the morning, she was irritated and short-tempered and being reasonable wasn't that high on her list of priorities yet.

'It would be a natural reaction,' Thorin replied, going ahead and strapping her backpack to the pony as well, even though she had not asked for it.

'It would be a natural reaction for a dwarf,' Kate corrected. And possibly for human beings as well, but dwarves craved it more than any other race if her knowledge was correct. And it managed to deflect the question well enough. 'And I haven't heard you about the treasure all that much, so I don't think you're too obsessed with it either, not like Nori for example.' Maybe that was not the best example she could have come up with, since her thieving brother was practically obsessed with everything that did not belong to him, but it would support the point she was making.

'You would go on this quest expecting no reward in the end?' Thorin did not react to the last part of her speech, but it was quite possible that it had somehow vexed him. He did not seem too pleased with her. That look had never boded well before.

And it triggered her own anger. 'Well, I am already on this quest, just in case you'd forgotten. And what is your sodding point anyway? I'm not even sure why you're mad at me now.' Maybe that was exaggerated, but Thorin wasn't exactly acting cheerful either, not that she had ever seen him truly cheerful to begin with.

'You will have some reward at the end of this quest,' the dwarf king vowed. 'I will not have it said that a member of my company has gotten nothing for her troubles.'

If that had been meant to pacify her, he failed spectacularly. 'This is about your _pride_?' Her voice rose in anger. It was quite possible that everyone would be able to hear them loud and clear, but for just this once Kate could not bring herself to care. 'Well, in that case you can just stick it up your…'

Thorin did not give her the chance to finished. The backpack had not been yet strapped to the pony properly, but he seemed to have forgotten about that, letting go of the bag – that instantly crashed to the ground – in favour of grabbing Kate's arms. If she was a child he'd probably have shaken her to land the message home. 'This is about you, not my pride, Miss Andrews.'

'What the…?' she began, but he had already gone, leaving her with aching arms, a grazing pony and her backpack's contents lying all over the place. _What the hell was that all about?_

**Thorin**

Thorin knew he should not be as angry as he was. He knew that and yet there was nothing he could do to control his temper. He could not even tell why he was angry about this. Surprised, struck dumb, maybe even amazed, those things he could find a reasonable explanation for. The fury he could not.

But surprise was an easy emotion in this case. Because for some reason that woman did not even seem concerned with rewards of any kinds. She wasn't showing off, priding herself in needing no gold, it was genuine. Kate Andrews was possibly the worst liar in existence and if she had not meant what she'd said, then he would have known. And she was not lying. She meant every word of it. She truly had no interest in being rewarded for the services she did them.

And it was no small thing she was doing. He had initially been loath to see it, too absorbed with the problems she presented rather than with the benefits of having her in the company. But now he knew that her knowledge about this quest was one of the most valuable assets to the success of the mission, although this he would of course never repeat out loud. But Kate had tied herself to this quest in a way only Thorin himself had truly done, although he did not doubt that the others would do it as well if he only asked. But she had done it without asking. Oh well, he had asked for an oath, but not one such as the one that had been made.

And she expected no reward for what she was doing. She had been torn away from home and family, risking her life on a quest in a world that was not hers for a people that she did not belong to, would never belong to. Yet the only reward she sought was to be sent home at the end of the quest and that was something that would have happened nonetheless. It did not count as a reward of any kind to him. It was nothing to compensate her for her troubles, for the fears and the risks. As her friend as well as the leader of the company that was something he could not stand for and he could not for the life of him understand why she could not understand that. Did she truly think they cared so little about her?

But he should not have lost his temper with her and he would probably need to do something to make it up to her, although helping her fix that messy hair of hers was out of the question for the obvious reasons. She seemed to be uncomfortable with it for some reason or the other. Thorin did not know why exactly. It just was. Unfortunately that made his list of how to make it up rather short, or rather, non-existent.

The advisor seemed to have regained some of her good spirits and was now riding in the middle of the column with Bofur. The dwarf was teaching her some songs and Kate quite seemed to enjoy it. The two of them were laughing and having fun, so Thorin let Gandalf do whatever he wanted and lead the way while Thorin fell back to listen as inconspicuously as he could. The wizard wasn't very good company now anyway, not since he had learned that they were not about to follow his precious book. The dwarf king could not care less about Gandalf's opinion, but it did make the man be very unpleasant to be around, especially now that his beard was still burnt and his pipe still floating down the Anduin, so he did not even have his smoking to calm his frayed nerves. Putting some distance between them would not be such a bad idea.

Bofur had taken over the singing, embarrassing the advisor with a song that Thorin himself would never have sung in company, never mind female company. Kate's cheeks coloured a bright crimson. 'Bofur!' she exclaimed.

It sent the dwarf in question and a few of the surrounding ones into fits of laughter, while the hobbit's cheeks turned even a brighter shade of red than Kate's. He'd already suspected that the burglar had led a sheltered life and this more or less confirmed it. And Bofur's song was hardly what he would call respectable. It made Thorin smirk.

'You know any better songs, lass?' Bofur asked.

'That's hardly difficult,' Kate countered. 'There don't seem to be worse songs in existence.'

'Share some with us,' he challenged.

The advisor sent him a glare. 'It's not some song-on-demand thing going on here,' she reminded him. 'And my voice is hardly worth listening to.'

'We'd like to hear anyway, don't we lads?' This was addressed at the rest of the group, who loudly declared their approval.

'You are aware I am the company advisor, not the company entertainer, right?' If Thorin knew her at all, she was trying to make an escape. He had caught her doing almost the exact same thing a few nights ago when Thorin had played the harp. He had let it, respecting her wishes. He just did not think his men would let her off that easily, unless Dori would interfere. And there was every chance that he would, because he would not want his little sister to be uncomfortable.

'Well, what else are we going to do here anyway?' Fíli asked. 'We're all stuck on the ponies. We've got to do something.'

'You can always tell an interesting story,' Kate suggested, an edge of hopefulness to her voice. 'Or play _I Spy_,' she added slyly. Thorin tried and failed not to chuckle, remembering all too well that Kíli and Bofur had driven the company half mad with that silly game by playing it almost literally from dawn to dusk after leaving Rivendell.

'Nah, we'd like songs better,' Fíli said. He was clearly not to be distracted, sensing that the woman was trying to get out of it by suggesting other options.

'I can also read to you tonight,' she tried.

'You could do so anyway.'

Thorin could swear he could almost hear her teeth grit in frustration. What he did not understand was why she was making such an issue of this. It was normal to sing on the road to pass the time and surely she must know that by now? She had heard them do it for months. And she herself had sung when the elves and goblins had serenaded them. Her voice was nothing truly special, but it wasn't a torment to hear either. At least it was not off key and that was more than he could say for half of the company.

'You could also leave me alone,' she pointed out. 'And bother someone else. I'm not even sure why you lot are so anxious to let me make a fool out of myself by singing. I'm really not that good at it. And you would not like my world's music anyway. Just leave it, will you?'

But that was not likely. The more she protested, the more insistent his men would become. It was a rule they lived by. In that respect they were not unlike the annoyed advisor.

'You can't be worse than Bofur,' Kíli teased, earning him an indignant 'Oi!' from said dwarf. 'Please? I'll catch you a rabbit for dinner if you do.'

This earned him a glare from the advisor. 'That,' she growled. '_That_ is blackmail.'

'Only if it works,' Thorin's youngest sister-son said, wholly unconcerned. 'Does it?'

'Bastard,' Kate muttered. It didn't have the desired effect, Thorin observed. At the beginning of the quest anyone who heard such an insult would be gravely offended. Now they were not even that impressed anymore. It made him realise how used they had become to Kate's presence and her strange words. 'I'd better have that rabbit,' she added in a threatening voice. 'Or I'll make Goblin-town look like a walk in the park for you.'

'I swear before Mahal that you will have rabbit tonight,' Kíli promised, before realising something. 'Gandalf, are there rabbits here?'

The wizard turned around, an expression of mild irritation on his face. 'Yes, Master Kíli, there are indeed. And you are very lucky that they are or else you would have ended up breaking your word. You ought to be more careful before you promise something.' Thorin agreed, even if he did not think it was any of the wizard's business.

Kate laughed, a sound of happiness. It reminded Thorin of the happy woman he had seen in the small painting back in Rivendell. She did not do that often, but it was a good sight and Thorin enjoyed it. The company could use it, especially with the dark Mirkwood looming on the horizon. 'Fine,' she said, throwing one hand in the air in a gesture of surrender. The other hand held onto the reins. 'Have it your way.' She threw Kíli one last exasperated look and started, carefully avoiding meeting anyone's eyes, almost as if she was ashamed:

'_She told him she'd rather fix her makeup_

_Than try to fix what's going on_

_But the problem keeps on calling_

_Even with the cell phone gone_

_She told him that she believes in living_

_Bigger than she's living now_

_But her world keeps spinning backwards_

_And upside-down._'

Thorin listened intently. It was different from how they sang their songs, but it was not necessarily bothering him. He did not understand all the words, but he understood quite enough to make him wonder if perhaps she was singing about herself and if she was even aware of that she was doing it. Sometimes she would retreat into that head of hers to a place where no one could reach her and they could only guess at what she was thinking at such a moment. And Thorin understood, because he used to do it a lot as well.

He actually enjoyed the calm day. It was going to be the last one before they entered Mirkwood and his men seemed to be of the opinion that they should make the most of it while it lasted. There would be no room for singing, storytelling and merry-making once they entered those woods. They would need to keep quiet and alert, be constantly prepared to fight any danger that might cross their path. The dwarf king had not forgotten Beorn's warning about orcs using the road and if they indeed were, chances were they would run into a group of those sometime during the march through the dark woods. It wasn't a prospect that was very tempting. But it was still better than the alternative, the northern passage through Mirkwood and he would not be dissuaded from taking the Men-i-Naugrim.

The song went on behind him. Kate sounded more sure of herself the longer she kept going. She even sounded like she was starting to enjoy herself, especially since some of his men joined in when the chorus came around a second time. Some of them were off-key and they did not always get the words right, leading to more fits of laughter. It were happy sounds and Thorin could not begrudge them this happiness. They would need to take the memories of it with them into the dark forest to keep them going.

'Thorin.' The almost icy mention of his name made him swivel his head around, only to find Dori riding next to him, looking at him with a stern expression.

'Dori,' he acknowledged. He had a faint idea what this was about and he was hoping to Mahal that he was wrong about this. The eldest Ri brother had been throwing him disapproving looks ever since he had first noticed the bruising on Kate's wrist, caused by Thorin's firm grip on it. He may be a king, but it was obvious that this fact did not mean anything to the other dwarf as soon as his family was concerned. Why could Kate not have been adopted by Bofur and his family? It would make things, and in this case his life as well, so much easier. 'Is all well?' he informed politely.

'We need to talk about my sister,' Dori replied. The tone was polite, but still very icy.

He had feared as much. 'Does she know about this?' he informed. He could not for the life of him imagine Kate approving of her brother "fighting her battles for her" without her knowledge or consent. She'd throw a tantrum if she'd found out and he for one would not want to be near when that happened.

'There is no need for her to know,' Dori said dismissively. 'I want to know what is going on, Thorin Oakenshield. You may be my king, but I will not stand for you mistreating her as you have done on several occasion now. Have you seen the bruising you caused?'

He had and he could not honestly blame Dori for getting mad at him for it. It was looking painful, even though Kate seemed to shrug it away. Had he seen this on a woman, he would have demanded she reveal the identity of the man who did that to her so he could set the fellow right about how one treated females.

But the worst thing was that he had not even been squeezing very hard. He had held her to prevent her from running, but he had not been aware of him hurting her. That had never been his intention. Maybe it was because she was of the race of Men. They were more fragile than dwarves and apparently they bruised more easily. He however did not think that this would do anything to pacify the dwarf riding next to him.

'I am aware and I offered my apologies to Miss Andrews,' he replied curtly. She would not want to hear him say her name like that, or she'd bite his head off, but the formalities might do something to soothe Dori. 'The matter has been solved some days ago.'

'Then I hope I can trust that I will not be seeing this again.' Dori was in full protective older brother mode. Had the situation not been so serious, and had Thorin not been the guilty party in this, he would have found it amusing, he was sure. As it was, he was the offender in this matter and there was only shame mixed up with irritation now.

'You can,' he said, forcing himself to meet the other's eyes. 'But your sister is quite capable of telling me herself if I do something she disapproves of. She is stronger than you give her credit for.' She may not be so in bodily strength, but her strength of mind was equal to that of a dwarf. The advisor was not easily broken and if she was, it did not last long. And she was as stubborn as any of their race. She just did not look a dwarf or he might have mistaken her for one sometimes.

'She is my sister,' Dori said, as if this was an explanation in and out of itself, which it probably was. 'It is my duty to look after her.'

_She's just going to love hearing that_. Did Dori truly not know her as well as to know that? She did not want others to solve her problems for her. 'And that does you credit,' he admitted.

The other dwarf nodded. 'So, tell me, Thorin Oakenshield, if you indeed acknowledge me as Kate Andrews's brother, why have you not yet asked my permission to court her?'

Thorin had expected more demands from Dori, but mostly he'd expected he would have to give a promise not to harm the advisor again. That was a promise that would be easily given, since he had never intended to hurt her in the first place. This he had not been expecting. What was this even? Was Dori trying to get him to marry the advisor?

'I beg your pardon?' There was still a small chance that he had misheard him.

Dori took it as his cue to elaborate. 'Do not play ignorant.' He would have snapped the words if he'd thought he could get away with it. Fortunately being a king had its advantages, if not too many in Thorin's opinion. 'The entire company has seen how the two of you behave around one another.'

This was quite a revelation, even if it was completely wrong. The dwarf king recalled Kate saying that at least some of their companions were trying to get them together or, Mahal forbid, had thought that it had already happened. He had not been aware that Dori was one of them. He had always struck them as one of the more level-headed dwarves, one of the most sensible people on the quest. He should have been the last to believe such idle gossip.

And still it did not make sense for his men to believe in the possibility. At first he had taken it for meaningless, if annoying, teasing, because the very idea of a dwarf marrying a human was as farfetched as they came. It did not happen. It had never happened and nor would it ever. There was no physical attraction to begin with. Kate was an interesting woman, and that was how they had become friends. She had risked her life for him, stood by him when he had told her to run and he would admit that their bantering was entertaining, but the physical attraction was non-existent. Kate was too skinny and too hairless to be considered attracting to any dwarf and Thorin had far more important things on his mind than courting and marrying. He had accepted long ago that such things were not meant for him and he had not regretted that. He did not miss it.

'I have befriended your sister,' Thorin replied, trying to keep his voice under control. 'That much is true. But I do not court her and neither do I have any intention to.' His pride told him he did not need to answer to him, but if he did, that would at least end this ridiculous nonsense. That had to be worth something.

Dori nodded, but did clearly not believe him. 'I would only ask you to do right by her,' he said gruffly. 'She is ignorant of the customs of this world. I will not have anyone taking advantage of her.'

_Like you're accusing me of doing?_ The voice in the back of his head seemed to speak with Kate's most sarcastic tone. 'I took an oath to protect her,' he replied, conjuring up his most icy tone in the hope that would make the eldest Ri brother back off. 'No harm will come to her as long as I live and can hold a sword.' This might confirm what half of the company was clearly thinking already, Dori included, but at least this would make him understand that he would not harm the advisor in any way, because such oaths were not taken lightly, even as the one who the vow had been made to was unaware of that. _Someday her ignorance might just get her killed._

Fortunately for him Dori understood a dismissal when he heard one. He gave his king a curt nod. 'Then we understand each other,' he said. That was a dismissal and a warning in one single sentence for those with ears to hear it and Thorin had been roaming the realm of politics long enough to read between the lines. Dori was as good as uttering a threat to make Thorin regret it if he ever as much as harmed a hair on Kate's head, but because of the way he had been phrasing it, Thorin could not call him out on it, which was, to be quite frank, more than a little annoying.

He let it be for now. It wasn't worth getting into a fight over and Dori re-joined Bombur and Glóin further down the column now that he had made his point. The encounter had passed unnoticed by most of the others. The only one to have realised seemed to be Bifur and with him there was no danger of telling any of the others, for which the dwarf king was secretly grateful.

He spent the rest of the day riding alone, content to listen at the others. It gave him the time to ponder Dori's words and the company gossip in general. He had done this before, but he could simply not help but wonder why everyone he had met on this quest so far was of the opinion that he had formed some attachment to the advisor. It was true they spent a lot of time in each other's company, but their respective roles within this group made that inevitable anyway. She was the advisor, he the one the advice had to be given to. They were allies and friends, but nothing more, yet everyone, even the elves, had assumed that there was more, a lot more.

But his mind refused to come up with any satisfactory answers and in the end he gave up. The sun was setting and they had come close to Mirkwood, putting Thorin on edge for quite different reasons altogether. The very thought of entering it the next morning made him internally shudder, making him wish they could travel around it instead of cutting straight through it. But there was no choice in this matter.

'We camp here,' he announced, dismounting the pony. It was yet half an hour walk to the woods, but he would feel more at ease with some distance between them and the looming forest. The thought that he would spend the next day inside said forest he banished conveniently to the back of his mind. They would cross that bridge when they came to it.

The company began to dismount and set up camp. Remembering the last time he had not done anything to help had gotten him a tongue-lashing from the advisor, he set about collecting some wood for the fire. Kíli and Fíli had taken off to hunt for supper – Kíli had promised to find rabbit after all – and they would need a fire to get it cooked. He could see Kate some distance away, doing the same. Thorin waited for her to be finished so that they could walk back to the camp together. He had sworn to look after her after all and he did not think it would count as looking after Kate when he left her outside camp on her own when she could hardly defend herself properly.

'Well, at least there's one advantage to being so close to a forest,' the advisor said when she joined him on their way back to camp. 'We won't have a shortage of firewood anytime soon.' She shrugged as she saw his puzzled expression at finding something positive about Mirkwood. 'Well, every cloud has a silver lining, right?'

Thorin admired the optimism, but in his experiences clouds were mostly dark and grey. Silver linings had not been given to him very often. But he understood her need to keep her spirits up in the face of the looming danger ahead. It was her shield, her way of dealing with fear and he could not fault her for it. There were worse ways to cope.

He was about to reply when the advisor tripped over what appeared to be her own feet and fell, making her drop the wood she was holding. 'Oh, shit!' she cursed, not quite under her breath. 'I'm sorry.' She coloured bright crimson in embarrassment as Thorin helped her back to her feet. 'The ground is rather uneven here, I suppose.' She looked down in to see what had caused her fall and paled. 'Oh, shit.'

Thorin was about to ask what had gone wrong this time, but looking down at what she was looking at made the answer all too clear to him. There was a footprint there, still quite fresh, no more than a day old. Normally Thorin would have said it belonged to a dog, but this print was far larger than a dog's. This one had been made by something bigger and far more dangerous.

'Warg!' he spat.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _What on earth was I thinking, choosing to come here? I should have persuaded Thorin to take the northern route!_

* * *

**And so it begins… Next time they'll venture into Mirkwood. Until then, reviews are still more than welcome. Your opinion means a lot to me.**


	35. Chapter 35 Shady Business

**Chapter 35**

**Shady Business**

_I think I was shivering by the time we had reached the camp again, and it did not have anything to do with the cold, that I can tell you. My companion did not look too pleased with the way things were going either; if he had directed that scowl at me I think I would have run for the hills without as much as a second thought. And I think Thráin and Jack know exactly how your father looked that day. I swear that he had exactly the same look on his face after we had saved you two from the River Running after you had decided it was so hot that you would go for a swim, even when you didn't know how to swim at all. It was that kind of scowl he had back then as well._

_A huge debate broke out. Some thought we should make a fire, because wargs don't like fire, others were of the opinion that we should not make a fire as to not alert our enemies to our whereabouts. Both options were sensible in a way, but the dwarves were making such a racket that any orc worth his salt would have been aware of our location simply because of that. And in the end it was Thorin who decreed that we did need a fire, if only because we could not eat the rabbits raw. We would need to remain vigilant either way and fire would be as good a weapon as any sword should it come to a confrontation with wolves or wargs._

_Nevertheless I don't think anyone was very much at ease knowing that our enemies might be hiding close by. Even Gandalf had shed his habitual infuriating calm, which was a novelty indeed. The wizard seemed on edge. I'm sure he didn't miss a spell of what was going on. I knew he would be leaving in the morning and part of me had been looking forward to that, because his behaviour was getting on my nerves, badly. But just for once his presence was a comfort._

_But we were all jumpy and I do not think anyone slept well that night. Thorin had ordered three men to stand guard at all times and commanded the rest of us to lie down and get some sleep, but the absence of snores all around was a tell-tale sign that everyone may be lying down, but sleep was quite out of the question. So I think we were all relieved when a new day dawned and we had a good excuse to get up…_

**Thorin**

Thorin had lived through many a tense night, but this one would always count as one of the worst he had ever seen. He had stayed up all night, keeping a watchful eye over his company and the surroundings. It had been his self-appointed duty to look out to the west, the direction their enemies would most likely come from. Orcs or goblins he could not say. They had only seen the print of the warg's paw into the mud and both orcs and goblins used them for mounts. He snorted when he reminded himself that they might very well work together now. A common enemy tended to unite unlikely allies and Azog, although a monster, had never lacked intelligence. It was a common mistake people made sometimes when thinking about orcs and goblins. Those people usually came to an untimely end when confronted with them and Thorin had survived as long as he did for a very good reason.

But the night had been quiet. He had not heard as much as a warg's howling throughout. It made him hope that the orcs had already searched this area for them before the company had arrived here and had now moved on to search elsewhere. He hoped for it, hoped for it with all his heart. The dwarf king did not reasonably believe that they could make it through Mirkwood without at least one fight, but at least they would have a head start. Gandalf had done some wizard's trick to cover the tracks they had made the previous day and that was a relief as well, even as he would probably not be heard saying that where anyone could hear it. They still had some advantages.

Dawn could not be far away now. As soon as they had light to see by they would be on the road again. Even Mirkwood sounded better now than staying here whilst hoping and praying they would not be attacked. There was no snoring this night, making Thorin believe that none of them had been able to drift off to sleep. And he could not blame them for it. Despite the guards they had set out the danger remained very real and very present. Nevertheless all of them were lying down, getting some rest at least.

The king's eyes drifted over the camp. There was very little movement at all, but he knew his men. They were not asleep. And neither was the advisor. She had curled herself up under her blanket, lying far too still. Maybe she was listening for sounds, anything that might indicate that something was amiss. He could not tell.

Nori had taken up watch close to her. He was watching to the north and east, keeping an eye on the wood and the plains, while Gandalf – did that wizard never sleep at all? – looked south and occasionally east. Thorin had never seen the wizard so ill at ease before. He had not made it a secret that he disapproved of this course of action, but he seemed to have resigned himself to it eventually, which meant that he clearly did not believe the matter worth to be arguing over. Had he really wanted them to take the elven path, then he would have been more insistent. No, then he probably would have found a way to make them take that path whether they wanted it or not. For now at least his manipulating temporarily seemed to be over and the dwarf was grateful for it.

He stood up as soon as they had enough light to see by. He walked over to the fire to stir it back up again. They would heat up the leftovers of last night and have that for breakfast. After that they would need to live on the rations Beorn had given them. That, and the few edible plants Mr Baggins had managed to collect along the road yesterday. Apparently the hobbit had his uses after all. Who knows, Gandalf might even have known what he was doing when he selected the halfling as the company burglar. The notion was a strange one, but a reassuring one all the same.

The rest of the company took this as their cue to get moving as well. One by one they pretended to wake up, although Thorin wondered if anyone was fooled by it. He didn't really think so, but if they wanted to keep up the pretence of normality, then who was he to deny them that?

'Well, looks like we came through the night without getting turned into a dog's dinner,' Kate remarked as she took a place by the fire, attacking her hair with the comb. The advisor was a little paler than usual, but she managed to conjure up something that with some imagination might pass for a smile.

Thorin took the spot next to her, the only one still available. 'Would you call that a silver lining?' he questioned, trying to keep up the banter. Humour might do all of them some good, especially in the face of having to enter Mirkwood. In this light it appeared to be even more threatening than it already had appeared to them in broad daylight the previous day. But he would not back out now. His company expected of him that he brought them to Erebor in time and travelling round would simply not get them there before Durin's Day.

Kate threw him a wry look. 'Well, I'd say so,' she replied. 'Bloody hair,' she added in a low hiss when said hair refused to do her bidding.

'Do you need help?' he offered. He had no idea where the words had come from, but they were out before he had given them permission to do so. Well, it was something a friend could offer and that was what they were for all intents and purposes, even if their friendship would probably not last beyond the quest, because then she would go back to her own world again and visiting might not be so easy then.

To his surprise she snorted. 'No, thanks.' She lowered her voice when she continued. 'There are already far too many rumours going around thanks to that one time. Let's not make things worse, please.'

He understood what she meant, even if he did not like it. As it would turn out, Kate had been the one who had been victim of these rumours and insinuations, even as he had clearly been unaware of them. Maybe it would be time to find out just how far back this went, because it clearly went a lot deeper than he had believed, if Dori's speech yesterday was anything to go by. 'Walk with me,' he said to her, not waiting for an answer.

Kate got to her feet, comb still in hand. Thorin took care not to help her up. Like the advisor had said already, there were far too many rumours out there. Both of them could do without them.

'What's this about?' she asked when they were out of the others' earshot. 'The wargs?'

He supposed that would make sense to ask after, but they had not shown themselves last night and to be quite honest, Thorin believed that their enemies had indeed moved on, even if he did not know where to. Had they been near, they should have shown themselves by now and they had not. 'These rumours,' he said. 'How long have they been going on?'

Kate's eyebrows shot up to what appeared to be halfway her forehead. 'That's what you want to know?' The tone of voice could only be described as incredulous. 'We're possibly chased by wargs, orcs and goblins and you worry about the things people are saying? I'd hate to say, but I think you should try to sort out your priorities.'

He knew what this kind of behaviour was. This was Kate trying – and failing – to deflect a question. 'If the orcs had been near, they'd have come for us by now,' he pointed out. 'We are safe for now.'

Kate thought about that for a moment and then nodded. 'You have a point,' she admitted. 'But we are at risk still, are we not?'

Thorin resisted the urge to snort. 'We are always at risk until the dragon is dead and the Mountain is ours again,' he reminded her. And she should know that as well. After all, Kate was supposed to be the expert where the book was concerned. She more than the others ought to know that every step they took was a risk. 'But we are as safe as we can possibly be for the moment. Isn't that enough?' And Kate should know that he would not let any harm come to her. He had sworn to that. She could not have forgotten about that so easily, could she?

The company advisor nodded hesitantly. 'Well, if you put it like that, then I suppose so.'

Thorin realised that he was in danger of letting himself be distracted by her and so he steered the topic of conversation back to the first subject. 'The rumours?' he repeated. 'How long?'

Kate bit her lip. 'You're an insistent one, aren't you?'

'Kate…'

She flashed him a quick smile, but her heart clearly wasn't in it. 'You're not going to let this one go, are you?' She waited a moment. 'Really, Thorin, it's not all that important. They're just teasing.'

He waited. Asking her to answer him was just about as effective as asking an orc to wait a moment before he attacked: it was just no use. He had learned however that when he silently waited she eventually would start to talk. He had to learn that lesson the hard way, but now he knew how to handle situations like these.

And his assessment of the situation proved to be right again. 'Okay, since Rivendell, if you really need to know,' she sighed. 'I'm not sure how useful this is to you, but don't go too hard on them?' She thought about that for a moment. 'You know, better not mention it at all. I can handle this myself.'

That made him swivel his head in her direction. They had been standing side by side, watching the road westwards, but this request made him look at her in confusion. 'Why?' he demanded.

Irritation flickered in the advisor's eyes. 'Because I can fight my own battles,' she snapped. 'And because if you interfere they'll only see it as a confirmation of what they are already thinking. Just leave them be. If we ignore it, they might just stop of their own volition. They might do that anyway, once we enter Mirkwood.' She glanced over her shoulder. 'It doesn't look too inviting, does it?'

There was no arguing with that. The woods made the cold shivers go down his spine and there was no way he could blame the temperature for that. It wasn't just that there were elves living in the forest – because they were living far more to the north and if everything went well, they would not even come near it – but the spiders that were said to be living here and the orcs that frequented the Men-i-Naugrim – which felt like blasphemy in and out of itself – those things did unnerve him and far more than he was willing to show to anyone.

'If you are certain,' he replied. He would discreetly tell some of his men to put an end to their childish behaviour and Kate would be none the wiser. It was time for them to start acting a bit more seriously with everything that was on the line now. These woods were not the place for these insinuations and rumours. If this had begun in Rivendell, then it had gone on for quite long enough already.

Kate nodded. 'I am.' She tore her gaze away from the woods. 'Ugh, the mere thought of going in there gives me chills.'

'We need to pass through them,' Thorin pointed out.

He got a wry grin for his efforts. 'I am only too aware of that. Doesn't make me like the prospect any better, though.'

And the advisor was not alone in that. None of the dwarves had reacted with enthusiasm when they had realised that they needed to pass through these woods. Mr Baggins had even paled considerably, but no surprise there. The hobbit might prove a useful burglar, but he was no hero. Courage was in short supply with him. Of course Gandalf had been the only one not even remotely concerned. And that was strange, since the wizard was well aware of the dangers Mirkwood contained. He had read the book as well. He knew as well as they knew that their trek through the woodlands would not be an easy one, no matter which route they took.

It was as if Gandalf had heard his thoughts. He heard the footsteps behind them and turned around to meet him. 'Gandalf,' he acknowledged. Next to him Kate muttered a polite greeting as well.

The woman had stayed away from the company wizard since the incident at the Anduin and that was probably a good thing too. He did not thank her for throwing his pipe in the river, but no one had expected him to. They had very little patience with the other and the dwarf king tended to side with his advisor in these arguments. Gandalf may have his reasons for meddling the way he did, but it did not mean that they had to like it, for they did not. Part of him would truly be glad to be rid of the wizard for a while, even as he longed to have him back with the company when they reached the Mountain.

Thorin had read the book and the reclaiming of Erebor was something he desperately hoped would turn out different in the real world than it did in the advisor's book. The book had described a series of failures that led to Smaug destroying Esgaroth before he was killed by a descendant of Girion of Dale. The people of Esgaroth might hate the dragon with a passion, Thorin did not doubt that, but the feud Thorin had with the beast was his and his alone. He ought to be the one that put an end to it. And now that he knew Smaug's weakness, he thought it should be doable.

But to fight that cursed dragon, they needed to get to the Mountain first and to reach the Mountain, they needed to travel through this horrible forest. But knowing what was at the end of the journey strengthened his determination. They could do this.

'Have you given any more thought to my advice?' Gandalf inquired politely.

Kate's eyes narrowed in suspicion and Thorin could feel himself copy the movement. 'Which advice?' he demanded, hoping that he was wrong about this one. And honestly, Gandalf could not really be suggesting that they turn back north now that they had already come this far? Well, he would not truly put it past the wizard and he _had_ spent the better part of their last day in Beorn's house trying to dissuade Thorin from taking the Old Forest Road through Mirkwood, using arguments like the presence of orcs, giant spiders and the closeness of Dol Guldur. The dwarf had ignored them all, deflected most of them. Orcs they could fight, spiders they could run into on the elven path as well. Dol Guldur was more worrying. He had heard the rumours about the fortress. Evil resided there, but that it had already done long before Thorin had even been born. For all he knew that fortress had never harboured anything good.

'Thorin, it is a dangerous road you're taking.' If the wizard had not sounded so annoyed Thorin might even be fooled into thinking he was begging. But that was not like Gandalf. He did not beg, he commanded.

'As is the road you would have us take,' he countered effortlessly. 'You would lead us straight into the waiting arms of the enemies of my people.' That thought made the sentence end in a growl.

There was a dangerous look that flashed across the wizard's face. 'You have no enemies among the elves, Thorin Oakenshield,' he all but snapped. 'The only hostility to be found comes from you!'

That notion was so ridiculous that Thorin would have laughed at it, were he not afraid Gandalf would blast his head off if he did so. Fortunately the advisor too seemed to think this was far too optimistic. 'You know, I love how you are capable of seeing the best in people, Gandalf, but even you cannot be as dim as to believe that Thranduil wishes us well. You know as well as we do that he will not welcome us with open arms and tell you what, I'm not at all willing to spend time in his dungeons.'

Thorin agreed with her wholeheartedly there. She did have a good point. And Thranduil was more likely to lock them up rather than let them continue on their way. He feared Smaug more than anything, or so it would seem. He would not let them go to the Mountain to kill a dragon, not when he had the chance to stop it. The elven king was far too afraid of the dragon's wrath. He would not risk Smaug coming to Mirkwood, because that would mean the end of his realm. Thorin was almost tempted to inform the dragon there was wealth beyond imagining in Thranduil's halls, just in the hopes of Smaug taking off westwards. It would have the added bonus that he would burn down these blasted woods as well. Killing two birds with one stone, in Thorin's opinion. It was just a shame that it was unlikely to happen for real.

'The decision has been made,' he informed Gandalf. 'We will not go near Thranduil's palace, not while there is another route available.'

Gandalf gave him a look that told him he would like nothing better than to tell him that there was no such route. 'Save me from the stubbornness of dwarves!' he exclaimed. The only thing missing was throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. 'That pride of yours will be your downfall one day, Thorin Oakenshield. Your chosen road will lead you too close to Dol Guldur!'

'Yes, but I don't think its resident will have much time to bother with a small company of passing dwarves.' Kate's tone of voice was relatively light, almost cheerful, but the look in her eyes would suffice to make milk turn sour instantly. 'Because that's where you're going, isn't that right? To chase the Necromancer out of his charming castle?' The smile on her face reminded Thorin of a predator that had its prey cornered.

Gandalf's face fell, if only slightly. 'The road still isn't safe, Miss Andrews.'

Kate glared at him. 'There is not one single road leading through this bloody forest that could be called safe!' she shot back. 'And Thorin and I both think that this is the best option we have.' She shook her head at him. 'And why are you so hell-bent on making us go north anyway?' The wariness was back in full force now, if it had ever been away, something Thorin rather doubted.

The dwarf king had followed the exchange with interest. He did not know what made Kate know what the wizard was up to – judging by his face he most certainly had not told her – but it must be something in that other version of the story, because he could not remember that the book said anything at all about what Gandalf was up to when he was not with them. He just disappeared and reappeared again and no explanation for that behaviour was given.

But no matter how the woman had learned about it, it was the truth she spoke and Gandalf did not like it. 'That is not for you to know, Miss Andrews.'

Kate snorted. 'And here was I thinking you wanted me to be an omniscient one,' she shot back sarcastically.

Thorin could feel this could escalate soon if no one interfered. Because this argument would get them nowhere. Gandalf would not offer any answers and Kate would not give up her quest of trying to get them. They were at an impasse. 'Our decision has been made,' he said, making quite sure that this was the final word he had to say about the subject, that there was no more room for any discussion. 'We will travel by this road. We have not come so far now only to turn back and take the risk of getting captured by _elves_.' He spoke the last word as if it was some kind of contagious disease. The elves of Rivendell had, admittedly, been kind, but they had not known of their true purpose. Had they known, Thorin was certain they would have stopped them. Nevertheless, Thorin had to admit that they had been good to him and his company. But the same could not be said for Thranduil and Thorin would not risk coming any closer to that elf's palace than he reasonably had to.

Gandalf was clearly bristling with rage, but at least he knew a lost cause when he saw one. He turned around and marched back to the camp.

Kate chuckled. 'Well, that went well.'

And despite the argument that had just passed and the looming threat of Mirkwood so close, Thorin joined in with a chuckle of his own. It was only much later that he realised he had told Gandalf that it had been Kate and Thorin both who had made the decision to take the Men-i-Naugrim. A frown replaced the smile. Since when did he allow to let the advisor make the decisions and, more importantly, how in Durin's name had that happened without him noticing?

**Kate**

Kate would not lie. She was glad to see the back of the wizard. For as long as she had known him and even before he had manipulated her every step and it frightened her. To be able to chart her own path was liberating, like breaking out of a cage she had not even been aware she had been locked into before she was released. Gandalf had done his best to steer the quest in the direction he wanted to for reasons beyond her comprehension, but it felt good to be free of it now.

At the same time his absence frightened her. They were about to enter the single most dangerous forest in Middle Earth and it was at the borders of said forest that he left them to their own devices. From here they had to rely on their own skills to reach Erebor. And it was not that she doubted her companions' skills, even if she sure did doubt her own.

_Oh, come on, it's not like the wizard did that much when he was around_, common sense commented as Kate was gathering the last of her belongings from the ground, brushing the dirt off them. _Come to think of it, how much magic _did_ he use?_

And it was right. Of course, common sense had the annoying habit to be right. Gandalf had clearly used magic when he had spirited her away from her own world, there may have been some magic involved in the rock-splitting stunt he pulled off when he rescued them from the trolls and he had certainly used magic in Goblin-town, but most of the time he had not used the magic that was at his disposal. He seemed to be far more handy with a sword. Most of the time he had spent nudging the company in the direction of his choosing. Logic would say that they should be able to deal with most of the dangers themselves.

'Ready to go?' Dori looked down at her.

Kate was still on her knees, stuffing the last things into the backpack. 'As good as,' she replied.

The rest of the company was much the same. Bombur was already putting out the fire, covering the place up as much as he could. If the orcs were to search the place, they would find the remnants almost right away, but at least it would not be visible from a distance and that just might make a difference.

'You?' she asked. 'Are you ready?'

None of the dwarves had so far displayed a great liking for the forest they were about to enter, and Kate could relate to that. As a child she had once gotten lost in some forest or other, that, at the time, had seemed enormously large and terrifying. Since then she had enjoyed walks in the woods when she could, but this forest brought back all those childhood memories. Because this forest was huge and dangerous. And it would be all too easy to get lost in it and never be found by anyone. That was not a prospect she found herself looking forward to. And dwarves belonged to a race that preferred the caves, the mountains, the deep places of the world. They had no love for woodlands.

Mirkwood, so she decided, looked like an monster ready to devour them, swallow them up and never release them again. And knowing the story as she did, she also knew that it would make quite an effort to make sure they never saw the bright light of day again. She had dreaded the dark woods more than the dragon even. At least she would not be supposed to come near that fire-breathing monstrosity. Mirkwood however was something she could not avoid.

Dori flashed a reassuring smile and helped her to her feet. 'We will not let any harm come to you,' he promised her.

'I don't doubt it.' Normally she might have flown off the handle for trying to mollycoddle her, but with that forest in her line of sight, the words reassured her and that was something she found herself in need of right now. 'Come on, let's join the others.'

The others were all ready to go and Kate hoisted her backpack onto her back. The thing was heavier than usual, what with all the supplies stuffed in it, and it hurt her shoulders already, but she would not be heard complaining. Her load was still lighter than the others' because she was a woman and she was not going to burden them. She had decided to make this quest her own and that meant that she could not complain like she had done before. It was out of the question.

But being part of the company now did not mean that she was suddenly any more brave than she had been before and when they entered the woods properly, she took care to stay in the middle of the column, walking next to Balin and Ori. The elderly warrior was not as young as he used to be, but in case of an attack he was more than capable of defending himself, and hopefully her as well. Moreover, falling into step with these two dwarves made her able to pretend that this was just another normal day with Ori showering her in questions about her world. It gave her a sense of normality.

And Kate needed that, because Mirkwood was every bit as frightening as she had imagined it to be. There was no sunlight here, no wind. The air was damp and heavy, making it hard to breathe. It felt like it had been here for hundreds or thousands of years, never moving, never changing. There was light to see by, but it was a constant half-light. They were moving in a twilight that would never lighten up.

Kate did not look back, fearing that if she did so, she would run for the light outside the forest without as much as a second thought and that would do her no favours at all. She had chosen to stay with this quest and the time for choosing otherwise was over now.

The last light of outside the forest faded quickly with all these trees to obscure the light and after a while Kate could no longer tell how long they had been walking. The surroundings were dark and all the trees looked the same when one only saw enough of them. There was no way to tell the time in this blasted forest, not by the light at any rate. For the first time Kate was grateful for her wristwatch. She hadn't really needed it since the quest had begun and she had half feared that the battery would have run out by now, but it was still in working order, which was indeed a stroke of luck.

Or maybe luck didn't have anything to do with it. Because logic would dictate that all the modern stuff she had brought with her would have long since died a silent death weeks ago. Her mobile phone was still functioning – apart from the fact that there was still no sodding signal to be found – and the same was true for her mp3-player. And there was no logical explanation for that, but maybe there was a magical one. So far all the batteries were still completely full and there was a memory of Gandalf near her belongings one evening as they had set up camp near Bree, for which the wizard of course had failed to give any kind of clarification. But that was nothing new at all and so many things had happened since that it had quite escaped her mind, but now she wondered. It did however not explain the reason why he had done that.

But then, Gandalf had never been too eager to share his secrets, which made Kate sometimes want to do a whole lot worse to him than just throw his pipe into a river. In this case, however, she would admit that he had done her a favour, although it was probably safe to say that he had not done so out of the goodness of his heart. There was always something else where the grey wizard was concerned and Kate had learned to be suspicious.

A strange thing it was indeed, she pondered as Ori chattered on about the specifics of life in the Ered Luin, which only required her to 'hm' every now and then. In the books and movies she had always quite liked Gandalf. She could see that he did sometimes use people as pawns in a much larger game, nudging them out of doors, pushing them into a certain direction, but she had always believed that it was for some higher purpose, which made it somehow acceptable. And the annoying thing was that the wizard was doing what he did in real life for a higher purpose as well, but it was quite a change from reading about it when one suddenly found oneself on the receiving end of his meddling. Well, at least they were finally free to make their own way from here on. It almost made her smile.

It was only when Ori stopped talking that the real atmosphere in these woods really started to register in Kate's mind. There was too little sound; no bird song, no sound of trees moving and moaning in the wind, nothing that made a normal forest normal. Sound did not carry far in here; the air was just too thick.

The advisor made her way to the dwarf king at the front of the column when the light started to grow ever dimmer. If the book was right, then soon they would not see a thing anymore and they needed to make camp before that happened. She did not think this would have passed Thorin by, but she could actually use the conversation and he was the only one right now she could truly share her concerns with, especially when the book was involved. And this was just a good excuse. Well, friends were allowed to do that, weren't they?

'I don't think it will be light for much longer,' she said as she fell into step beside him, feeling every inch the advisor right now. She found that she liked it, this new role. It made her feel like she could truly contribute to the success of the quest and that was a pleasant feeling.

'I wasn't aware it was light to begin with.' Thorin managed to conjure up something that looked like a sarcastic grin. There was a whole new side to this dwarf she had hardly started to uncover. She should not be surprised that there was. After all, until a few days ago they had hardly been able to keep up a civil conversation. That was, admittedly, not the best way to get to know a person. Still, she had always taken Thorin for a rather serious kind of person, not the one who was even in the business of laughing, never mind sarcasm. In a strange way it both did and didn't fit him, but, if she was really honest, she liked this new Thorin. But she would not be heard saying that out loud, not ever. There were far too many rumours out there already.

She found herself reacting to the banter almost right away. 'Forgive me,' she said in a half-mocking voice. 'What I meant to say was this: I don't think there will be much of this half-light for much longer. In other words: best stop before we can't see a bloody thing anymore.'

One corner of the dwarf's mouth curled up. 'You are right.'

'Alert the press,' she shot back, before she realised that this still meant nothing to him. 'Correction: alert Ori, so that he can write it down in the chronicles for future generations to read.'

Thorin had looked puzzled for a moment, but her correction made him get the joke and the other corner of his mouth joined in the smile. 'Is that truly such a rare occurrence?'

'Do you truly want me to answer that question?' Kate countered.

'I'd rather you did not.' He turned around. 'We'll camp here for the night.'

The sigh of relief was clearly audible. Kate figured they had walked longer than usually and no one was at ease in here. Most of the dwarves were even bordering on jumpy, although they would probably never admit to that when called on.

'Shall we start a fire?' Bombur asked.

Thorin and Kate exchanged a glance. The book had said that fire would attract moths, but that had been true for the northern route. This was far more south than that path. Things could be different here, even if it wasn't very likely. But still, chances were that it would be different and it would be nice to not be surrounded by darkness entirely.

'No harm in trying?' Because of her own uncertainty the soft remark came out like a question.

Fortunately for her Thorin seemed of the same mind in this regard. He gave a curt nod. 'Keep it small,' he ordered his men. 'And stay on the path. Under no circumstance are you to stray into the forest.' That was something Gandalf and Beorn had instilled in all of them whenever they discussed the passage through Mirkwood, so that by now Kate was quite sure no one could possibly forget it anymore. Not that she thought the warning had been truly necessary. The advisor could not for the life of her figure why anyone would _want_ to venture into these woods out of their own free will. No one in their senses would leave the path voluntarily.

Darkness was falling fast now. Soon Kate could only still see the vague shapes of her companions. The search for firewood turned out to be rather unsuccessful, since no one dared to stray too far from the camp. There were some branches, but they would hardly last an hour, never mind a night. This knowledge chilled Kate to the bone. She was not afraid of the dark, had not been so since she was a small child, but this was a different kind of dark. And in here the fear of wolves jumping out of the shadows to devour one whole was not nearly as irrational as it had been back then when she had feared those monsters were lurking under her bed as soon as the light went out.

The dwarves were grouping together and Kate wished she could do the same. It would be nice to have someone close, within reaching distance. The others could easily do it, but she was a woman and for her to do so would be frowned upon, because for her it would have a completely different meaning.

She found herself cursing dwarven propriety once more. Before now she had never really had an issue with this. She had actually relished the chance to be alone, to have some breathing space, the smallest amount of privacy possible in this company of dwarves. She had never been bothered by the fact that her bedroll had always been a little farther away from the rest of her companions' until now. Now it made her feel alone in the dark, and therefore vulnerable.

'Screw them,' she muttered under her breath. Her fear of the wood and its dangers induced a sudden wave of complete and utter disregard for rules and propriety. She would be mad to try and sleep with no one even remotely near, when anything or anyone could sneak up and snatch her away from her friends before they could notice, never mind stop it. And in the dark no one would see what even happened to her, so they would be in no position at all to stop it. Surely no one would protest terribly much if she remained close to her adoptive brothers? Such a thing could not be frowned upon, could it?

'I beg your pardon?' a voice suddenly spoke.

Kate dropped the bedroll and swivelled around. The light was nearly gone, but there was just enough to make out the well-known shape of Thorin Oakenshield. The anger for startling her quickly followed the relief that realising that this was not an enemy caused. 'You buffoon!' she hissed. 'Don't you _ever_ do that to me again!'

Thorin remained wholly unimpressed, something that should not have surprised her. Sometimes he had one of those moods where she could shout and insult him until she dropped and he would not twitch as much as a muscle, making her feel like an annoying child for not having the same amount of self-restraint. It would seem that sometime between arriving here and setting up camp he had slipped into such a mood again. 'Kate, what are you doing?' The tone was patient, if slightly disapproving.

'If you think I'm going to spend the night all by myself, then you're mistaken,' she pointed out. She swallowed when she realised how childish she must sound. 'I'm not scared,' she added. It was a lie, but he did not need to know that. And maybe, if she told herself so often enough, she could will it to be true. 'I'm just not comfortable being this far away from the group with God knows what out there roaming the woods. I'm not very eager to make for easy prey.' There, now she had made it sound like a well thought about plan, even if it wasn't, but again, Thorin needn't be burdened by that knowledge. 'Your sodding rules of propriety can go to hell for all I care, but I actually plan to come out of this place alive and in one piece preferably.'

She did not know what kind of reply she might have expected, but what came out of his mouth was something she had not truly been prepared for. 'You are right.' The words were calm. It was annoying that she could not see his face – even his shape was hard to make out now, even if she strained her eyes, although he was hardly a metre away from her – so that she could at least gather some information from his facial expression. It was hard enough to make out what he thought in the broad light of day, but with only his voice to go on, it was even harder.

A quip was possibly the best way to deal with this. 'Again?' Kate tried to make her voice teasing, but felt like she failed miserably. 'So, can I go on now?'

This earned her a derisive snort. 'Where to?' the dwarf asked.

'Why, my brothers of course.' Where else was she supposed to go? 'I don't think Dwalin would appreciate my snuggling up to him very much. Neither would I to be honest.'

This time her words drew out a low chuckle. 'No, I do not believe that such a gesture would be appreciated,' Thorin agreed, apparently greatly enjoying the mental picture. 'But do you think you will be able to find them in this darkness?' Good heavens, why on earth did that man sound so bloody amused? In Kate's opinion there was nothing even remotely funny about this entire situation and for the life of her could she not figure why Thorin, one of the most solemn people to walk the earth, would think that there was.

Having said that, he did make a good point. She had had a vague notion of seeing Dori and Ori somewhere to her right. She could possibly get there if she was really careful, but in this blasted darkness it would be too easy to miss out on them entirely and stray right into the forest instead. 'Yes?' It came out as a question.

Thorin was still amused, if his chuckling was any indication. 'I need to correct my question,' he informed her. 'Would you be able to find them without tripping over at least three people?'

She knew she wasn't. All the light had gone now and there had not been much to start with. The wisest thing to do was to stay put till morning and hope and pray nothing would try to eat her in the meantime. 'I am _not_ staying here all by myself!' The fear and panic that were gripping her now as the dark closed in around her made the words come out harsher than she had intended.

The reply consisted of an exasperated sigh. 'Lie down, Kate.'

Her temper was close to snapping all of a sudden. She blamed the panic. She would not be left alone here, not in this dark place. 'Thorin, I am telling you…'

The dwarf king did not give her much time to voice her protests. His hands gripped Kate's arms, which startled her all over again since she could not have seen them coming, and pushed her down to the ground. 'Stop making such a racket, woman.' The words were not quite snapped, but they were beyond a doubt impatient now. 'My men are trying to sleep.'

No doubt about that. But she was still not going to be left alone here, even if it meant she had to snuggle up to Dwalin. Faced with the alternative that didn't sound too repulsive all of a sudden and she could deal with the consequences in the morning. Right now, she could not care less about those. 'I'm still not…'

Again he did not give her the chance to finish that sentence. 'Lie down.' It was not a request this time, it was a command. And he clearly expected her to obey it.

And she had no intention of obeying. 'Thorin…' She hated the fact that she was almost pleading with him now. Kate Andrews didn't do that. It wasn't like her and she hated that apparently a little bit of darkness was sufficient to turn her into a snivelling wreck.

His hands still had her upper arms in a death grip and he now used that to lay her down on the bedroll she had dropped when he had first startled her. 'Lie down,' he repeated. 'And you're not alone. I'm staying here.'

Those words were a relief. She was not going to be alone here. There would be someone here with her. Kate felt the urge to ask him to promise it, but she squashed it right away. She was not a child anymore. She was an adult, so she should act like one.

'Thank you,' she said, meaning those two simple words from the bottom of her heart. Something side-tracked her then. 'This will probably feed the rumour mill.' Only imagine what her companions must say when they found out about this. It would probably confirm just about every suspicion they had ever had about the two of them. Well, at least it was a small consolation that they had already thought these things before this had even happened.

She heard and felt more than she saw that her new friend sat down close to her. He shifted position until he had found one that was remotely comfortable and then surprised her by half lifting her up to place her head in his lap. 'Sleep, Kate,' he said. This time it sounded like a well-meant advice rather than a command. 'No one will see this. It's too dark.'

He was right of course and this allowed her to relax a little. 'Fine,' she muttered, putting up some resistance for the sake of putting up resistance. She was just not going to tell him how idiotically glad she was to have him near. And those rumours were a concern for tomorrow, somewhere far down her list of priorities right now. 'Have it your way.'

His low chuckling in the dark told her he knew exactly what she was doing, making her feel rather like a fool for doing it in the first place. 'Sleep, Kate,' he told her again. She didn't think he had ever sounded so kind before.

* * *

From Thorin's notes: _Why in Durin's name did I make an offer like that?_

* * *

**That's it for today. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the wargs. They will come. Give me a little time. The next chapter should just be up Sunday as scheduled. In the meantime, your opinion still means the world. Please review?**


	36. Chapter 36 Bad News

**Chapter 36**

**Bad News**

_Falling asleep that night was kind of awkward. I appreciated the offer Thorin had made, but it didn't change the fact that I was all too aware of what our companions would say and think when they inevitably found out about this. I was at a point where I could have snapped at them if they so much as looked the wrong way. _

_I'm not entirely sure why it annoyed me so much as it did. It was all good-natured teasing and I was quite sure that not one of them was too serious about it, because the fact remained that the entire notion of what they were suggesting was unheard of. Still, it did get on my nerves and I think my first reaction would be to keep my distance from Thorin as to avoid any more rumours from coming into existence, since there were so many of them already. But that sounded like running away from things and it would not be fair on Thorin either._

_Slowly, very slowly, I think there was a measure of trust growing between us. He trusted me to keep him from succumbing to the gold sickness and I trusted him enough to sleep with him watching over me. It was a friendship thing, even if it was unlike any other kind of friendship I had ever experienced in my life. It was teasing one moment, it was shouting the next. Maybe the charm of it was that at the very least it was never boring, never ever predictable._

_But I thought that at least the shouting might be at a temporary end now that we had entered these dreaded woods. In there it was essential that we were not constantly at each other's throat, that we would work together well to make sure that we all got out again on the eastern end. King and advisor, as we had been introduced to Beorn by a very helpful Gandalf. The idea that I, a loud-mouthed journalist from a completely different world, had ended up advising a king was still surreal and in a way completely ridiculous, but then, so was the idea that I had been dragged into a world I had until some months previously believed to be only existing in books. And now I found myself in a world where I was knocking out orcs with a wooden shield, throwing a powerful wizard's pipe into a river and befriending a king. Somehow life never quite does what you expect it to…_

**Thorin**

The night was not silent. There were far too many noises for Thorin's taste and none of them were reassuring. He was on edge, ready to get up and fight whatever it was that was hiding out there in the darkness. But swinging a sword around would not do him any good now. He was more likely to kill his own companions than he was to kill the creatures of this forest. It was too dark to see anything and they had too little wood to keep a fire going, for all the good that would do them anyway.

The only real option there was, was to sit here and wait for dawn to come. At least he should be glad that in this utter darkness orcs could see as badly as they could. They would not travel under these circumstances either, he knew, so there was no threat of an orc raid in the dark. It was a small consolation, a silver lining Kate would call it, but it was something and that was better than nothing at all.

So here he was, sitting in the darkness with the advisor's head resting in his lap. He had still not figured out what had made him offer to remain with her, but he knew it had been the right thing to do, whatever that was anyway. In the dark Kate had been nothing more than a disembodied voice, but the fear was obvious in it. Of course she had denied being frightened, but Thorin was not fooled. Even his men were uneasy in this place. The woman, having almost no skills of defending herself, would have every reason to be scared even if she did not want to own up to that. And a friend could offer to remain with her. It was just the part where he had offered himself up as a glorified pillow that puzzled him.

And he could tell that it made Kate uneasy, or maybe it was just this blasted forest that made her as jumpy as she was. He could not tell for certain. She had fidgeted for a little while, but eventually the exhaustion had won out and she had dozed off. Now he could only hear her deep breathing. It was a relief that his plan worked in that regard, that she was able to rest some, as she should after a long night of waking and a day of walking with a bag that was visibly too heavy for her. He made a mental note to take some supplies from her and carry them himself. He had not missed out on the way she had grimaced when she had finally been able to put the backpack to the ground. He should have known better than to let her take on so much. She wasn't as physically strong as the rest of them, Mr Baggins not included, of course.

He wondered about her now. Kate may have found it awkward to lay her head in his lap, as had Thorin, but she had not raised too many protests and the ones she had raised had been more of a show than real protests. They were coming to trust one another, he supposed, and now that her loyalty was no longer in doubt, he felt he could allow himself to rely on her word. And they were as of now the only ones in this company to know the full contents of the book. They were more or less forced to work together, even as Thorin was sure that had not been the advisor's intent when she had first suggested he read it. She thought it had been a way of distancing herself from the company, but thanks to Gandalf it had only tied her closer to the quest. It made him wonder if she regretted it now, knowing what she knew now.

Night-time watches induced strange thoughts, the dwarf king pondered, and lately a lot of his thoughts centred around the woman whose head now lay in his lap. Thorin blamed the gossiping in the company for that. In the end it always led him to wonder how they were able to jump to such a conclusion, but he knew better than to ask it of them. He doubted he would get a straight answer out of them. And in this case it would be obvious why some of them would think what they did. He remembered doing this for his own sister when she was younger, but Kate was no relative, not by a long way.

'Thorin?' A deep rumbling snapped him out of his musings and back to the present time. Fortunately no one could see how startled he was in the dark, or the owner of the voice would have scolded him for it. Dwalin would not easily let him forget about letting down his guard in such dangerous territory and he would be right too.

'Dwalin,' he acknowledged curtly. If the sounds he heard were any indication then the half-bald warrior was making his way toward him, quite possibly because he found himself incapable of getting any rest here. Thorin could hardly fault him for that. As it was he was surprised that most of the others were resting. The snoring was almost as loud as usual. 'Careful,' he warned his friend. 'Kate is lying here.'

'I know. We all heard the ruckus she made earlier.' It neither sounded hostile nor friendly. It was neutral, which was possibly the best he could expect, with things being how they were between the warrior and the advisor. They had been near enemies since the day Dwalin had learned she was a possible threat to the quest and Thorin himself. He had yet to see that Kate may yet prove to be the best way to keep this quest from failing.

He shook his head in disbelief. Was he, Thorin Oakenshield, truly admitting that he needed the help of a weak human woman? Denying it now would not do him any good now, not after the agreement they had made at Beorn's house. He had feared that things would get awkward after that, because he had shown himself to be weak in front of a woman. Kate however had not seemed to be bothered by it. She treated him as she had done since she had done since they had made those oaths, like friends of sorts.

'You should be asleep,' Thorin told his friend.

'As should you be,' Dwalin countered.

'I will find no rest in this place,' Thorin replied curtly. He would not admit that to anyone else, but Dwalin was a trusted friend who would not think about telling his secrets to anyone else. He was a true friend indeed, one Thorin did not think he deserved. Dwalin had stood by him for as long the dwarf king could remember and he was grateful for it. He had also been the first to join up for this quest, a true friend and comrade indeed.

He could hear the other sit down next to him. 'We will get out.' Dwalin was not a man of many words and he was not good at reassuring people, about as good as Thorin himself was at that, but the words came from the heart. 'Is the lass's book any help?'

That was an unexpected question. Dwalin usually pretended the book did not exist at all, so him asking after it was a novelty. Thorin remembered his first reaction to her revealing the book all too well and his reaction had been very similar to Thorin's own. Maybe he too was starting to realise that the book could be useful. After all, Thorin was his main concern and if Kate's knowledge helped in keeping Thorin safe, then he would tolerate it, and her.

'We think so.' The use of the plural was certainly not intended, but it felt like the natural thing to be saying. 'The route we are taking now is a different one than we would have taken according to that book.'

When a reply was not forthcoming, he simply assumed that Dwalin had nodded, as he used to do, though in the dark he could not see it.

'You disapprove of this?' he inquired, a little sharper than he had meant to. He knew he would continue down his chosen road, but he would feel better about doing this with his friend's approval to back him up. It wasn't simply a matter of Dwalin following him, it was about the dwarf's approval of what he was doing. That was what counted, more than he was ready to admit.

'Do you want an honest answer?' The warrior sounded a little doubtful, or as doubtful Dwalin was capable of sounding.

And if that was the case, it was almost certain that Thorin would not want to hear the answer. But in this case he did want to hear. 'Yes.'

There was a short silence, or as silent as it ever was in this forest. He could hear animals run around in the woods close to them and there were animal sounds that Thorin could not quite identify. He was not sure he would want to identify them. He was not the type to run, but this was something that set his teeth on edge. Give him an enemy he could see any day. He would rather fight Azog all over again than sit here and wonder if he would suddenly attacked from the dark.

'I do not know why you believe her.' When the answer came eventually it very nearly startled the dwarf king.

Thorin sighed. 'Because she speaks truth, Dwalin. I have read the words from her world. There are no lies in that book.' _Much as I dislike it. Much as I dread it_. 'I would be a fool not to.'

He sincerely hoped that no one else was awake. He was baring his soul and he did not feel ashamed of that, not when it was Dwalin who was listening to him. But the thought of others listening to his deepest worries was a little frightening. He needed to appear strong for his men, because they all relied on him. The burden was heavy, but he knew he could shoulder it. He had done that since Azanulbizar. Breaking down was not an option, not when so many people needed him to be strong, to be alive. No, that was not something that he would share with Dwalin.

'I don't like it.' Dwalin's reply was blunt and disapproval was all too obvious in his voice. 'We should not let our fate be decided by some book or other.'

'We do not,' Thorin reacted. 'That's why Gandalf brought her here in the first place.' Not that the wizard had done anything to change their fates so far, but Dwalin did not need to know this yet. 'We are changing it.' Or at least he hoped that was the case. There was no guarantee that this would turn out as they had planned, but it was a chance Thorin was willing to take. It was a chance he _needed_ to take. He needed to do what he did now if he did not want to end this quest in a tomb deep under his Mountain.

There was another silence and Thorin realised that he had once again used the plural form, and that was bound to lead to questions. Dwalin was not the kind of man to make assumptions about his king's private life, not out loud and in front of others. If he had any opinion on the matter at all, he kept that opinion to himself. Not that there was any need for him to voice his thoughts, because the dwarf king already knew that his friend did not approve of Kate Andrews. He frowned on her knowledge and her apparent closeness to Thorin. He had a strange urge to say that she was only his advisor and friend, and not anything else, but that might sound too much like he was denying something that was actually there. He would not do that.

'You disapprove of her?' he asked when Dwalin once again made no attempt to talk, comfortable with the companionable silence.

'She saved your life when I could not.' The reply was curt and not willingly given. 'I made a promise to her not to bother her as I have done before.'

It wasn't a real answer and that was a fact that had not escaped Thorin's notice. And for some reason it vexed him. He would prefer it if Kate and Dwalin would get along, because it would certainly make his life easier. There was tension between the two of them. Kate was wary of Dwalin, even if she was grateful for the sword lessons he gave her, and Dwalin was wary of Kate. But both of them were now friends of his, albeit as different kind of friends as they could possibly be.

'I cannot ask for more,' he replied, knowing that to be the truth. He could not make his friend like the advisor, not even for his sake. Besides, Kate might just throw a tantrum if she ever learned that Thorin was, what she would call, fighting her battles for her.

'So, there is truth in what the lads are saying?' It was hard to judge what the dwarf was thinking without having the luxury of seeing his face. Sometimes it seemed Dwalin modelled his conduct on his king's: neutral tone of voice, almost impossible to read. Dwalin had spent too much time around him, Thorin thought.

His own reaction to this was one of near shock. By the sound of it, it did not take much for the warrior to arrive at this conclusion, even if there was no truth in it. It was just as well that Dwalin could not see just how close by Kate actually was, her head still resting in his lap, a pleasant weight in it. Some lock of hair had ended up over his hand some time ago, no doubt escaped from her braid. The woman's hair was too unruly to be bound for long. Maybe it said something about the owner of that hair as well.

There was something alarming about the notion of it being pleasant that Kate was so near in such a way, a way most people would not easily dismiss as friendly. He must have been listening too much to his men's talk and now it was putting strange notions in his head, things that he himself did not feel at all. This was something he had done for a friend, a friend who was scared out of her wits. There was no ulterior motive, nothing like that. Yet the fact remained that he could not for the life of him see himself do such a thing for any other friend he had. With Kate it somehow, even for all its awkwardness, felt natural and this frightened him, more than he was ready to admit even to himself.

The silence dragged on, became uncomfortable now. 'These rumours have not yet stopped?' he demanded, hoping to deflect the question thus.

Unfortunately Dwalin had known him for years. 'You know they have not.' The tone was once again gruff, but not unfriendly. 'And they won't, not while the two of you keep sneaking off to places, holding hands, having whispered conversations everywhere.'

It would almost be too easy to give a much simpler, much more innocent explanation for these things, but he would not be seen defending his actions. He wasn't answerable to any of them, no matter what Dori clearly had deluded himself into thinking. What Dwalin called sneaking off _was_ probably sneaking off, but not to do what everyone was clearly thinking. There was nothing at those occasions that was in any way romantic. They were meetings to plan their strategy and strangely enough Thorin had found they were working well together. They made for a good team, just not in any other way than being allies and friends.

'Then you should tell them they should have other and better things to concern themselves with.' He could not quite explain why he was suddenly as snappy as he was. 'We are on a quest to reclaim our homeland. They should get their priorities straight.'

If Dwalin realised that his king was suddenly a bit more chagrined than he had been before, then he did not comment on it. 'I would not disapprove of it,' he said suddenly. Somehow Thorin didn't think _it_ referred to the gossip they had been discussing. For a moment he was puzzled, not sure what his friend was even saying, but then he realised that it might very well be the topic of the gossip that Dwalin was talking about. It made him almost choke on his own tongue.

And that was leaving the fact that Dwalin had more or less given his approval for the non-existent match out of consideration. It became increasingly apparent that Dwalin was taking this seriously and as such, he was prepared to put up with whatever it was that Thorin wanted, as long as he was convinced it wasn't bad for him. Kate should probably be rejoicing that she fell into the not bad category, but something told the dwarf she would have cheerfully bitten Dwalin's head off for assuming things that weren't there. It was probably just as well she was still sleeping.

'Nothing is the matter between me and Miss Andrews.' He was training himself to address her by her first name, but for now the use of her last one might just make it clear to Dwalin that there was nothing between them, nor had there ever been. 'And you would do well to put an end to these blasted rumours when you hear them.'

His annoyance with all the gossip was growing by the minute. Some people should know when to keep their mouths shut, especially when there was nothing going on between him and the advisor besides friendship. And Thorin did not expect that there ever would be something more at all. He would never marry. It was something he had accepted long ago. He was shouldering too many burdens, was always on the road. That was not the kind of life he would wish for a woman. And he had no illusions. He was probably too old already to take a wife. No lass in her senses would consider marrying one his age. And Kate had only just begun her life. She was too young, yet if they both lived to a normal old age for their respective people, they would die around the same time, a strange thought indeed.

'Short of bashing their skulls together, I don't think there is anything I can do about it.' Thorin could hear the amused smile in his friend's tone of voice.

_And that is supposed to cheer me up?_ The sarcastic voice in the back of his head sounded remarkably like the advisor, come to think of it. He must have heard too much of her sarcasm lately. 'Get some rest, Dwalin,' he told the warrior, knowing that this was an argument he could not win. If even his closest friends were convinced that there was something going on between him and the company advisor, then there was probably nothing he could say to change that. Only time would set them right.

And honestly, he had better things on his mind. They still needed to find their way through this forest and stay away from orcs, spiders and whatever else lurked in this blasted forest. He truly did not have the time to deal with such trivial matters and angering himself over it would not do him or anyone in the company any good. He could better keep his thoughts on the matters at hand and leave everything else till later. It was the best he could do now.

'No,' Dwalin disagreed. Judging by the noise he made he got up to try and find his way back to his bedroll. Either his sense of direction was better than Thorin's or his memory was sharper than his king's. Thorin was not sure he would have been able to find anything in this dark. 'I'll keep watch.'

The warrior would never voice concerns, but Thorin was no fool. Ten to one that Dwalin knew that he had already stood watch the previous night and that he had not slept at all, so now he took over to give Thorin the chance to rest. It was one of those things that did not need to be spoken. It was a thing friends did for one another.

And maybe his friend was right on this account. He was tired and the thought of someone he trusted staying awake made him able to relax some. And it would be wiser to rest while he could. The road was still very long and he could simply not stay awake every single night. So he rested his head against the tree trunk he was sitting against and closed his eyes. He drifted off sooner than he'd expected.

**Kate**

Kate was not entirely sure what made her come back to the world of the waking in the end. It could not have been the light, because when she opened her eyes there hardly was any. There was more light than there had been – not that it could be less – but still everything and everyone was painted in greys and blacks. But at least she could see something again and that was a relief, more than she felt ready admitting to anyone.

For a little moment she felt disorientated. Her neck was hurting because she appeared to be lying on a pillow that was a little too high for her. And that didn't make any sense, because she was quite convinced that she did not even have a pillow with her. Most of the time she just folded her cloak under her head to have some support there, but this did not feel like her cloak.

Her brain was still hazy because of the last remnants of sleep that told her to quit the thinking and go back to sleep while she still had the chance for it. Her friends were still merrily snoring the day away and since it didn't appear like they were in immediate danger from anything, it was probably safe to rest for a little longer.

But the riddle of the pillow was tugging at her mind, demanding an answer and she knew she would not be able to sleep again until it was answered. She blamed her natural curiosity for this, the I-want-to-know-something-and-I-want-to-know-it-now -attitude. That did come in handy in her job, but in times like this it was mostly just hugely annoying.

She propped herself up on her elbows to take a look. Sleep instantly fled as the shock kicked in. What on earth was her head doing on Thorin's lap? How had it come to be there? As far as she knew it had absolutely no business being there.

She worked herself into a sitting position, trying to think straight. There was a faint recollection of going to sleep the previous night and Thorin was in it. They had argued about her trying to seek out her brothers and he had prevented her from doing it, pointing out to her that she would never be able to find them in this blasted dark, offering to stay with her himself. Kate wasn't entirely sure why he would even consider offering such a thing, but she had been glad that he had done it. It had made her feel a little safer.

She recalled saying that his behaviour would sure suffice to get the whole blasted rumour mill up and running again. Thorin had reminded her that it was too dark for anyone to see anything and he had been right, at the time. Right now dawn was coming and she had better get away from him before any of the others woke up and started jumping to conclusions.

Thorin himself was still sleeping, rather deeply too. He did not even stir when she moved away from him. His head rested against the tree trunk he was seated against, mouth half open. In sleep his face looked relaxed, younger somehow. He certainly never looked that peaceful when he was awake, she observed. Well, everyone deserved to have some peace of mind, Thorin no less than others.

She stretched and decided to make breakfast. By the looks of things no one had been standing guard last night and she was the first one awake. The thought of not having someone watching over them was a little unnerving, but she would have to admit that even if there had been, they still would not have been able to see a single thing. No one could have seen in this darkness, with the possible exception of the creatures that lived in this forest.

She was turning towards the centre of the group when she realised she had been watched. Dwalin was sitting up, studying Thorin and her with quite the unreadable expression, one he seemed to have copied from his king. It was rather difficult to make out what he was thinking normally, but in this half-light it was even harder. But one thing was for sure, he had seen her lying with her head in Thorin's lap. _Oh, shit._

Playing ignorant would do her no favours, but she might just get away with pretending it was nothing important, even if it clearly was. So she took up her bag and joined him. 'Morning,' she greeted. 'I was wondering if you could perhaps help me preparing breakfast?'

He gave her a curt nod. 'Aye.' That was talkative, for him.

It didn't do anything to lessen the disapproval that she could feel radiating off him now that she was closer to him. He did not like what happened here, but there was a certain amount of acceptance as well, acceptance that it was not within his powers to change anything about it. If anything, it set Kate's teeth on edge. Was it just her imagination or had the speculating about the non-existent relationship increased tenfold in just the last few days? After the whole stay with the eagles people seemed almost convinced that there truly was something between Thorin and her, and far more than friendship as well.

As annoying as it was, could she really blame them for thinking that way? Hardly, she supposed. Ori's drawing had made that much obvious to her. If she looked at her own actions from the others' perspective, then it was all too easy to see that some things could be explained rather differently from how it had really been.

It did not change the fact that there was no relationship and in this case it was probably better to tell Dwalin that. 'There's nothing going on,' she said bluntly. 'Between Thorin and me,' she added.

'He told me,' was the curt reply.

That was a surprise, but a good one in this case. 'Good,' she said. 'Then you can stop looking at me as if I'm responsible for every misfortune that has befallen you.' Things had always been awkward between them and for no apparent reason, not that she was aware of anyway, and it vexed her. Yes, of course she was the weakest member of the group, but she wasn't useless, not anymore. Good grief, he had even admitted to that himself. He had also promised not to bother her anymore and he hadn't. But he didn't need to rub her nose in her faults to convey the message perfectly though.

And she had just about enough of it. She picked up her belongings and demonstratively moved away from him, not ready for any kind of discussion so early in the morning. The rest of the camp was waking up slowly and she sought out her brothers for company. Dori fussed over both her and Ori's hair, Nori tried and failed to make off with some things that weren't his and Ori was already consulting his journal for something. It was reassuringly familiar and predictable.

The familiarity of it all made the dark threat of the forest bearable. It didn't mean she suddenly liked it, because that was definitely not the case, but it made her capable of accepting that this was the way things were and she would have to see it through. Somehow it was worse looking at the forest from the outside, than being on the inside.

She stuck close to her family, but joined Thorin at the head of the column when Dori's fussing began to annoy her. Apparently he too had come to the conclusion that something must be going on between Thorin and her, because lately he had started lecturing her on dwarvish propriety and courting rules. It was hardly subtle and Kate did not feel up to it. Somehow it had all sounded more interesting when Ori spoke of dwarvish customs than when their eldest brother did it. Of course, Ori's chatter had the distinct advantage of not being a lecture.

'So far, so good,' she commented, beckoning at the road. It was obvious that at least this part of the Men-i-Naugrim had not been in disuse for years, even if it wasn't all that it clearly had been once upon a time. The sides of the road were overgrown with plants of every kind, all of them looking extremely poisonous and inedible. The rest of the road was still in acceptable condition, allowing them to travel fast. It was, however, the question for how long this would last. Near the eastern entrance the road was practically non-existent, Beorn had mentioned, even when he had admitted that if they were careful, it should be doable to travel there. He had strongly advised against it, but he had given in eventually. After all, it was their quest and they should do as they wanted, something Gandalf had yet to understand.

While the state of the Old Forest Road was probably a good thing in terms of them being able to move faster, it was a worrying thing at the same time. She had checked the book again shortly before they entered the woods and it said nothing about orcs traveling into the woods themselves. But it was clear now that they did, maybe to go to Dol Guldur. Orcs didn't love forests, but Mirkwood felt like the kind of forest where an orc would feel totally at ease. And with Azog hunting them he might not feel opposed to entering this place either, so even when they would not run into orcs that roamed around here anyway, they always had the chance of the Defiler catching them up at some point in time. That didn't feel like a tempting prospect either.

Thorin nodded. 'Indeed.' The dwarf king seemed to be in a pensive mood, bordering on grumpy.

The rest of the company wasn't as cheerful as they had been before they entered Mirkwood, but the gloomy mood that had plagued them the previous day had mostly subsided now that they had walked for a day and nothing had gone wrong. It was just another day's march for them. Bofur was whistling a tune, Ori and Balin had an intense discussion about something probably very academic and Kíli had tempted Bombur and Fíli into a game of _I Spy_. Everyone was a little more alert than they usually were, but that was about it.

'Do you want to talk about it?' Kate inquired.

He looked at her face. 'Do _you_ want to talk about it?' he countered.

She sent him a quizzical look and an arched eyebrow. 'Talk about what?' she wondered.

One corner of his mouth curled up in what appeared to be amusement. 'Whatever it is that makes you scowl at the road the way you have done the entire morning.' Whatever had been on his mind seemed to disappear for the moment, making room for this new, almost teasing side of him.

Kate settled for rolling her eyes. 'We're in Mirkwood,' she pointed out. 'Isn't that reason enough for a person to scowl? Heaven knows you've been doing it most of the time.'

'You weren't scowling yesterday,' Thorin observed.

Good grief, had that man become insistent. 'You know that discussion we had some time ago about you being a social worker? I still think it doesn't suit you.' She was quite sure that she did not want Thorin to know about her little discussion with Dwalin. He had been annoyed enough before and Kate was sure that him storming off to rectify the entire situation was of no use to anyone, least of all to them. That was the thing with this kind of gossip: the more one protested against it, the more insistent the gossipers became, because they saw the denial as confirmation. Best to let it bleed to death. She was however not so sure Thorin shared those views.

The dwarf fixed her with his sternest stare. 'You are evading the question.'

She weighed her chances should she decide to go for the innocent approach, but something told her that was not going to work at all. He was just too focused now on trying to get her to talk. 'Fine, have it your way. Just try not to fly off the handle, will you?'

The stare intensified, ordering her to elaborate. The promise she was waiting for would not be forthcoming.

'I had a little argument with Dwalin just now,' she told him. 'He did not seem to believe me when I told him there was nothing going on between us, but he kept looking daggers at me, so I walked away. End of story. Now will you let it go?'

That was very unlikely. After all, it was Thorin Oakenshield they were talking about and he wasn't very keen on letting things go. He sunk his teeth in them and hung onto them like a bull dog. It was quite possibly the reason why he could still get very upset over his grandfather's death that had happened more than a century ago and that was leaving his anger towards the dragon out of consideration. He held grudges well and Kate made a mental note never to give him a reason to hold one against her.

'He did not really insult me,' she added. 'He was just well… disapproval incarnate. He told me you had already told him that there was nothing going on, so I suppose that takes care of things.'

Unfortunately Thorin could be rather sharp when he put his mind to it. 'Then why was he disapproving?' he wondered. There was wariness in his voice; he knew she was holding out on him.

'Because he didn't believe you?' she ventured hopefully, but one glance on his face told her this was not doing the trick. 'Very well,' she sighed. 'He may have seen that you were acting as a glorified pillow. Does that by any chance mean something that I should have been aware of?'

The dwarf shook his head. 'It does not.'

'Then it is just Dwalin reading too much into things?' she checked.

'It is,' Thorin confirmed. He seemed pensive again and not for the first time Kate found herself wishing she could open up some secret door in that thick skull and take a look inside to find out what was going on in there. Heaven knew that might make her life easier every now and then.

'Do you want to talk about it?' she asked hesitantly. Friends were allowed to ask, were they not, especially when said friend was the one who had begun this attempt at social work, not that it really worked.

'You cannot guarantee we will not encounter elves, can you?'

Kate had not really expected a reply and especially not one such as this, which was, come to think of it, no reply at all. 'I'm sorry?' This came just out of the blue and she had no idea what he was trying to make her say.

An exasperated sigh was the result. 'You cannot…?' he started to repeat.

'Yes, yes,' Kate interrupted. 'I did hear you the first time, you know.' Not that it made any more sense now. 'Just curious though, how did you link Dwalin's behaviour to the presence of elves?' And here she was thinking that only women did these sudden changes in the topic of conversation. Her mother was famous for it. But Thorin was the last person she had expected this from.

Thorin was evidently not feeling up to sharing. 'Answer the question.'

'Please,' Kate muttered under her breath, before she continued in a louder voice: 'Well, it is their realm. I suppose it is possible that we should run into one patrol or the other. I only know what's in the book. I do not have the gift of foresight, you know. I'm Kate Andrews, not Mystic Meg, and in this case I know just as much as you do, which is to say: nothing at all.'

Thorin merely nodded, not even reacting to her last, almost sneered, remark. 'If we should run into them, you will pretend to be my wife.'

That struck her speechless. 'I'm sorry, _what_?'

She must have misheard this. Thorin hated the endless speculating as much as she did. He least of all should be willing to pretend to be married to her again, never mind that he was the one to suggest it. That would not help them in killing these bloody rumours at all.

But when the silence lingered and Thorin was still not preparing to explain himself, she realised that maybe this plan was not as stupid as she had judged it to be at first. After all, it were the elves he was talking about and if she had learned one thing about them in the short time they had stayed in Rivendell, it was that most of them had a sense of propriety that would put many a pope to shame. Put the elves in the Vatican and no one would question it. She amused herself with conjuring up that mental picture before dismissing the fanciful thought and returning to the matter at hand.

That must be it, the elves' ideas of propriety. They would never let a human woman travel with a bunch of dwarves. It would be the whole Bree-scenario all over again. They had obviously not been able to believe that she was traveling with the dwarves out of her own free will and if the elves of Rivendell had not believed them married, they might have thought the same. Bloody elves. The more she heard about them, the less she liked them. Well, that should make Thorin's day.

'This is about the elves and their sodding sense of propriety,' she concluded. It'd better be, because if it wasn't she might just end up screaming like a lunatic.

A curt nod was the reply. The talkative mood seemed to have vanished in an instant, quite possibly because elves were hardly an ideal topic to discuss and Thorin's hatred of them, especially of the ruler of this realm, ran deep.

She shrugged. 'So, that means we're sticking with the Rivendell cover story?' she checked. 'The whole nonsense about me being from Bree, you coming there and us falling in love, that kind of nonsense, right?'

Something in her words had made the smile come out again. 'Yes, that nonsense,' the dwarf confirmed. He sounded amused. 'Though I would advise you not to use the word nonsense in the presence of Thranduil.'

She nudged him in the ribs, temporarily forgetting that he was wearing armour, so she only succeeded in hurting herself. 'Ouch. Shit! And I'm not a child, Thorin. I won't be as stupid as to make it sound like the story it is.' She smirked at him. 'Though I can't promise you not to use the word nonsense where the elves themselves are concerned.'

His eyes joined in the smile. 'I could not fault you for that.'

She laughed. 'Oh, I'm sure you could if I did that when we actually stood before them and me and my big mouth just talked us all into trouble.' She shrugged. 'Anyway, it's only a worst case scenario, so I'm not particularly worried. The elven settlement is miles….' Whatever else she had wished to say got stuck in her throat and she skidded to a stop.

She had not been paying too close attention to the road before now, but occasionally she looked down to see where she was going. Right now, she wished that she hadn't.

Thorin had halted too, fixing her with a stern glance, silently demanding what had caused her to behave in such a way.

Kate pointed at the print in the mud in front of them. It was frighteningly similar to the paw print they had found just outside the borders of Mirkwood, not to say, identical. And it was a print that, according to the book, had absolutely no business being here, because this part of the road was meant to be in disuse, overgrown. But the road was not overgrown and neither was it out of business. That print in the mud was more than enough proof of that.

There wasn't any real doubt about the creature that had made it. She had seen their paw prints before. They were like a dog's, only quite a lot bigger. It made her once again wonder why it had sounded like such a bright idea to call one of these beasts a nice doggy again, because nice was not a word one would easily use when talking about wargs.

'Shit!' The soft hissing to her surprise came out of Thorin's mouth, although it would be safe to say that he had not realised that he had used one of her curse words and now was hardly the moment to remind him of it. This was far too serious to joke about.

Because the print was not leading out of the forest, back to the west entrance. It was pointing east, the direction they were heading. And by the looks of it, it wasn't very old yet. There were wargs in Mirkwood and only heaven knew where exactly they were. Kate could feel a cold shiver travel all the way down her spine.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _I have been such a fool. I should have persuaded Thorin to take the northern route. I knew in advance that this was dangerous, yet I still advised to go south and now just look at the mess we're in. Could it be too late already to turn back and get out of here before it is too late?_

* * *

**That's it for today again. Next time there will be a little action, I can promise.**

**On another note, I was asked some questions about a sequel involving some of the moments Kate keeps mentioning in the journal pieces. I have been planning a collection of one-shots, outtakes if you like, for all the things that are mentioned, but not really elaborated. That, however, will have to wait until I've finished one of the other stories I'm currently working on, because I just can't keep four stories going at the same time. In the meantime I won't mind if you let me know what kind of situations you would like to read about. **

**Next chapter should be up Wednesday as scheduled and there will be some action then, promise. In the meantime, please review? I'd love to hear your thoughts.**


	37. Chapter 37 Found

**Chapter 37**

**Found**

_There was a whole lot of commotion after we had discovered the warg's paw print in the mud. There weren't any other tracks nearby, because the road was too hard. It was a mere stroke of luck – or bad luck, depending on your perspective – that this particular warg had left a print in one of the few muddier parts of the road._

_It was an instant crisis situation, with weapons being drawn and Bilbo, Ori and I getting shoved into the middle of the group while the rest went into fighting mode, clearly expecting wargs to come jumping at us out of the many shadows. Of course we all started to feel a tad bit ridiculous when no warg was forthcoming. It felt quite anti-climax to me and I suppose that the same could be said for the others._

_So when it became obvious that nothing was going to eat us right away everyone calmed down a little, but the relaxed mood was gone instantly. I suggested turning back, but was rewarded with a foul look from your father, one I am sure all of you are quite familiar with. In the end we – correction: Thorin – decided that we should press on, but all of us remained on full alert, weapons at the ready. After all, the warg had appeared to be heading east, but who was to say that it could not turn back? And who was to say that it was alone?_

_The atmosphere was tense and everyone was jumpy. I think that's the perfect summary of the days that followed. We had taken to moving as fast as we could. Thorin was setting the pace, effectively making sure that we all dropped at the end of the day from sheer exhaustion. _

_Those nights didn't get any better either. Making a fire was officially out of the question to avoid attracting unwanted attention. Instead we had two watchers out at all times – not that there was much to see in that blasted darkness of those woods – and grouped together as closely as we could, temporarily forgetting about propriety and customs. Staying alive was our main priority._

_But days went by and there wasn't a warg in sight. We kept seeing the occasional paw print, but they were always at least a day old and always heading towards the east. Eventually I think we all allowed ourselves to hope that we would get out of this unscathed. And that was of course the most foolish notion of all…_

**Kate**

Kate was starting to lose count of the days they had spent in this forest. After a while all the trees started to look the same and the days were so alike that after some time it became rather difficult to tell them apart. The mood was both glum and alert, the natural result of endless marches through this dark and depressing forest, the knowledge that there just could be an unspecified number of wargs and possibly orcs as well out there weighing heavily on all of their minds.

As a consequence there wasn't much talking and the time passed in an unpleasant silence. There hardly was any conversation and if there was talking at all, it was only about the practical matters and the word conversation was hardly an appropriate word for these curt and hurried exchanges of information. The only thing even approaching conversation was shared with Thorin and that too was mostly about the road ahead, guessing where they were now. These matters hardly mattered much since they had no book to go on and absolutely no way of knowing how far they had already advanced, but it helped to talk about it. Kate suspected they were merely keeping each other's spirits up, but that was not exactly an excessive luxury in these parts, more like a necessity of life.

It did however not mean that Dori suddenly approved of it. He was still under the impression that there was something going on between them – even if the bloody gossiping finally had stopped because of the much more pressing matters – and he kept sending glares in Thorin's direction that the dwarf either did not see or pretended not to see. Kate would not rule out the last option.

And when they would finally put Mirkwood behind them, the tongues might indeed find themselves occupied soon enough. She sometimes had discussions with Thorin that lasted till late at night. There was no shouting this time. Not only was that the best way to avoid unwanted attention, but the advisor didn't think they would have shouted even if they could have done so to their heart's content. Something had changed between them and she could not quite pinpoint when said change had occurred. But it had.

These days most of the discussions began as planning the quest, but eventually the topic shifted to either of their childhoods, family, hobbies, music. It were the things she would have talked about with friends and that was what they were now. She squashed the annoying voice that said that this was also the kind of thing one would discuss on the first few dates.

Maybe Mirkwood wasn't the place to talk about such things, but both of them felt the need for it, if only to distract themselves from the huge responsibility they were shouldering. Kate sometimes felt like an old woman because of all the burdens she was carrying around and it was not a pleasant feeling at all. This innocent chatter made her think of other things and as long as they kept their voices down the rest of the company would not wake.

Kate thought it was their eighth night in Mirkwood – give or take a day or two – that they ended up taking first watch together again. There wasn't much to see, but they were the ones to be awake for the first half of the night, keeping an ear out for trouble since eyes were no use here. The others had gone to sleep as soon as the last light had faded, getting as much rest as they could get before another tiring day of marching. Kate's body protested the notion of more marching, but her head knew that the faster they walked, the sooner they would get to the other side. And that was a welcome thought indeed.

She was lying on her bedroll, arms folded under her head, staring off into the darkness. 'You know what I noticed?'

Thorin was somewhere to her left, close by, stretched out on his own bedroll, she supposed. It was impossible to see, but when he spoke his voice sounded close to the ground, indicating that he too was lying down. 'I am assuming that you are about to tell me within the next minute, whether I want you to or not,' came the amused reply.

This side to Thorin was still new to her and it wasn't easy to deal with, not after she had gotten used to shouting at him for so long. But their shouting days were behind them now, it would seem. Thorin could still be as grumpy and uncommunicative as he had ever been, but sometimes, when he was a little relaxed, this side came out. It made him sound younger, much more carefree than he usually was and that actually was something she liked in friends. It was strange still to think of him as a friend, but she just let it go and went with it and actually found herself enjoying it.

She snorted. 'Very funny, Thorin,' she commented. 'Well, I noticed that we don't appear to be surrounded by eyes, like the book said we would be.' At first it had not occurred to her. She had been too scared out of her wits by the darkness and the undefined noises that were coming out of these woods to pay much attention to what wasn't there. It was only after a few nights that she had started to realise that there was indeed something missing.

Thorin thought about that for a moment. 'You are right,' he said eventually.

The advisor smirked in the dark. 'You are aware of how many times you said that since we entered this dreadful place, aren't you?'

Had someone told her she was teasing a dwarf king – a supposedly famous fictional dwarf king at that – some months ago she would have accused them of consuming far too much alcohol or reading far too much fanfiction. Or both. But right now it almost felt like the most natural thing on earth to be doing. She remembered thinking that fighting with this dwarf had been like trying to swim upstream in a river with a strong current, fighting all the while to achieve some progress, fighting for every small victory. Since she had decided to quit fighting, things had clearly progressed a lot. Uselessness of fighting indeed. This almost felt as natural as breathing, not that she would ever be heard to say that out loud. No doubt the rumour mill would be up and running the moment they left this place and they had given it enough food these last few days as it was.

'If I recall right, you said it just as many times about me,' Thorin countered easily.

Kate chuckled. 'You've got me there,' she admitted. Had he said that a few months, no, even a few weeks ago, then surely she would have flown off the handle. But this was not a few weeks ago, this was now and in the here and now she could joke with the king of Durin's Folk every now and then. The world must have turned upside down without her noticing somehow.

Thorin joined in with that low amused chuckle of his own. 'But you are right about the absence of eyes around the camp,' he said, tone thoughtful once more now that they were discussing the more serious matters.

'Maybe there are only animals so close to the elven path,' the advisor suggested. 'What with elves loving everything that is nature.' She had not really been able to think up something else.

'Or maybe it is because we are closer to Dol Guldur than we would have been had we taken the northern route,' Thorin offered. 'Radagast said that nothing lives and grows near that fortress anymore.'

Kate took a moment to think about that. Thorin might just have a point there. _The Greenwood is sick_, the brown wizard had said and the advisor could see his point. The trees were still standing, possibly even growing and alive, but it wasn't a healthy kind of growth. The leaves of the trees and bushes were of a so dark green that it was almost black, especially with the way the light was in this blasted place and all in all it was rather threatening. It was all dark and black, at night more so than it was at day and it wasn't natural.

'We aren't that near Dol Guldur, are we?' she asked, turning on her side so that she was looking at him. Or she would have looked at him if this thick blanket of darkness had not obscured her view. True to the book she could not even see her fingers if she waved them in front of her face. The dark had been unnerving the first nights, but apparently it was something one could get used to over time. It still bothered her, but it helped to know that other people were within arm's reach. And if she was in danger of forgetting, then Dori's loud snoring on her right was always a good reminder.

She frowned. Her oldest brother was less than pleased with the way Thorin and she kept seeking out each other's company and she knew why. Apparently a man and a woman could not be just friends around here or people expected that there was something more going on between them than just friendship. And telling him that nothing more than friendship was the matter here had done them no good so far. So now Dori had appointed himself as a chaperone of sorts, keeping an eye on his sister's virtue. She tried to find it annoying, but so far it was mostly amusing.

'Good point,' she admitted. 'But there are animals around here, I think. We can hear them move at night. They just don't come close to the camp. Not that you will be hearing me complain.'

She was rewarded with another chuckle. 'I would think not.'

'And we still haven't seen wargs or orcs,' she went on. 'And our provisions still seem to be sufficient as well. So far I'd say things are going swimmingly.'

Really, she wasn't going to cheer in advance, but this was a good way of keeping all of their spirits up. So far things _had_ gone well. Thorin guessed that they were about halfway through the wood now, even though it was hard to tell for sure. The rations were strict and especially Bombur was moaning about the lack of food, but so far the rations lasted. Maybe her plundering of Beorn's pantry was going to pay off and they would be able to make it through Mirkwood with food to spare.

Thorin clearly knew what she was doing. 'We are not out of these woods yet,' he reminded her.

Kate reacted with a very unladylike snort. 'You're a little ray of sunshine, aren't you? Always the optimist around here.'

Had he still been relaxed then he might have reacted with a snort of his own. Clearly he had slipped into one of his thoughtful moods sometime between their discussion about Mirkwood and her remark about how well the quest was progressing. It was impossible to say what brought it on, one never could with Thorin Oakenshield, but once he was in such a mood, it was almost impossible to snap him out of it again.

'You have no idea how dangerous these woods are.' The tone was solemn now.

'I read about it,' she reminded him. 'I think I do know. And now that I'm here I can see it for myself. Or I would see it I it wasn't so bloody dark in here.' Somehow she couldn't help but react whenever someone said she was ignorant of one thing or another. It still reminded her too much of her own father and even when she had been able to teach herself not to fly off the handle anymore, it was still quite impossible not to try and contradict them.

Thorin sighed. 'There were stories about these woods even when I was a child,' he told her.

This made Kate frown. 'But when Radagast came to find us, he said it was a recent development, right?' Of course this was just another thing where book and movie disagreed. She should be used to it by now, even if it was confusing at times. She could never know what knowledge was the right knowledge. And it frustrated her to no end.

'Maybe it has grown worse than it was recently,' Thorin speculated. 'But these woods have been dark and threatening for nearly an age. There is a reason so few people travel by this road anymore.'

'I can see that,' Kate muttered. 'Good grief, I've almost forgotten what sunlight looks like.'

'We will see it again,' Thorin said. 'Once we get out of here.' He was silent for a little while. 'It at least proves that you are no dwarf.'

'What, because I love the sunlight?' She was quite sure the dwarf had not meant this as an insult, but to her it somehow felt like one, not that she would ever tell him so.

'No, because you cannot appreciate the dark,' came the reply.

She threw an incredulous look his way that he of course was unable to see. 'Don't tell me you've suddenly grown fond of this constant night. Last time I checked you weren't exactly at ease here either, or in Goblin-town, come to think of it.'

'It's different,' he told her with the air of someone who knows what he is talking about. 'Goblin-town was… an abomination, nothing as it should be. Erebor…' He was searching for the right words. The longing was back in his voice now. It was almost impossible for her not to hear how much he cared about his home. She could not quite understand how one could talk about one place with so much yearning, but he was absolutely genuine. She longed for home as well, but not in such a way. She just wanted to get back because she missed the people that made the place a home to her, not because of the place itself.

'Magnificent?' she offered, only the hint of a teasing tone to her voice. This meant too much to him to tease him about. 'Wondrous, beautiful.'

'All of those,' Thorin confirmed. 'And more, much more. Wait until you see it for yourself.'

She nodded, remembering just a second too late that Thorin of course could not see that. 'I will,' she said. And she was curious. The Lonely Mountain truly must be something of a wonder to behold to have one of the most taciturn men in the world almost bursting into song at the very mention of it. 'Let's just hope the dragon didn't leave the place in complete disarray, shall we?' She tried to go for a lighter tone. 'For one reason or another I don't think he's the type to do much housekeeping duties.'

The mental picture of a dragon scrubbing the floors of Erebor with a cloth and bucket and the optional apron tied in front of him did the trick of snapping Thorin out of whatever wistful mood he had been sliding into. The deep chuckle was back now. 'At least he would not have much trouble with getting the fire in the hearths going,' he commented dryly, almost sending Kate into fits of very girly giggles that would surely wake everyone in the camp if she allowed them to cross her lips.

Thorin had a very dry sense of humour from time to time, mostly when she least expected it. The first time she remembered him doing it was when they were in the middle of a rescue mission, trying to distract the trolls so that their companions could get away. She didn't quite recall how it happened, but Thorin had startled her and she had snapped at him that he had almost scared her to death, to which Thorin casually remarked that such an event would surely save the trolls the trouble.

'Cooking should not present much of a problem either,' she chimed in, going with the completely ridiculous things they were currently thinking up. 'Though he probably should take care not to burn his food.' It was only when no laughter was forthcoming that she realised what a dragon liked to eat for supper and that it was quite likely that he had consumed many of the dwarves of Erebor in such a fashion the day he took the Lonely Mountain. Her joke suddenly wasn't funny at all, especially when she realised that Thorin's own mother had died that day. 'Oh, Thorin, I'm sorry!' she blurted out, feeling like banging her head against a wall for having been so downright stupid. 'That was tactless of me. I didn't think. Really, I did not mean it.'

Ugh, why was her mouth always faster than her brain? How could she have been so stupid as to forget the crimes Smaug had committed that day? She had known he had destroyed an entire town, that he had killed countless men and dwarves alike on the day the Mountain was taken and Dale was turned to ash. It was the very reason why they were on this quest in the first place, but of course she had to try to be funny and forget all about what had happened before, probably re-opening old wounds. She had seen the grief in Thorin's eyes when he had spoken about his mother. She really ought to have known better.

The silence remained. 'Thorin?' Oh, dear, she had really done it this time, hadn't she? Had she said this at the beginning of the journey, she could probably not have cared less about Thorin's feelings regarding this subject, but they were friends now and friends didn't do things like this, didn't say things like this. It just wasn't done. 'Thorin, I didn't mean it!' she hissed at him, angry because he had not at all given her an answer, had not even acknowledged her apology. 'Oh, come on, don't give me the cold shoulder, will you?'

She was a little surprised when she suddenly felt his hand grab her wrist. 'Silent, woman,' came the hissed reply. Yes, he was definitely mad at her. _Well done, girl, very well done indeed._

'I told you…' The rest of her reply was muffled by Thorin's other hand that clasped over her mouth with such accuracy as if he had been able to see it. What the hell was he doing?

'Silence,' he repeated, hushed this time. He must have moved closer somehow, because she could feel his breath on her face as he spoke.

She had no idea what was going on, but this was getting a little too intimate and threatening for her liking. He had both his hands on her and was probably whole lot closer than was considered appropriate. Dori would freak out if he saw it and this time Kate could not help but agree. There was something threatening about this treatment, even more so because it was dark and she still couldn't see a single thing, so that she had to rely on her other senses.

She took a deep breath through her nose, which wasn't exactly easy since Thorin's large hand had the annoying tendency to cover her nose as well, and then bit down on his hand, hard. The dwarf king let go instantly. She thought it was more of shock than of pain, since he seemed to be capable to keep running even with cracked ribs, but she had the surprise on her side this time.

'What the hell do you think you're doing?' she hissed as softly as she could, hoping that this would stop him from blocking her air supply all over again. 'Let me go, you big oaf. Dori's going to have your head for this if he finds out.' Not that her brother was about to find out, because he was still snoring the night away, but it was the idea that counted, wasn't it?

'Quiet,' the king growled. This was definitely a command, not a question and she obeyed almost on instinct. There was some wariness in Thorin's voice and she didn't think it was directed at her. Something in their environment must have triggered this behaviour. And that notion made her give up on her resistance right away. It meant that something was wrong, very wrong, or he would have taken the time to ask her nicely. 'Don't you hear?' he asked, softer this time, so soft she could hardly make out the words.

'Hear what?' she whispered.

'Listen,' he ordered.

She did. And at first there was nothing, nothing at all. There were the usual sounds of Mirkwood. They were disturbing in and out of themselves, but she had learned to ignore them. It was either that or lose her sanity to complete paranoia and she was not ready for that.

But there was something else as well. There was talking, talking in a tongue she could not understand. At first she stupidly believed that the elves must have found them after all, only to realise that elves didn't grumble like that, nor would they speak a language such as the one they were hearing now. And that left only one frightening possibility. Orcs.

**Thorin**

The dark was unnerving. He would never admit this when called on, but it was. It was like he had said to Kate, the deep halls of Erebor were so different from the threatening dark of Mirkwood and Goblin-town, not to mention the fact that Erebor was usually bathed in the light of torches. Dwarves could see reasonably well in the dark, but even his race needed some source of light, no matter how small, to see by. And there was no such source of light in this cursed forest.

But the talking helped, helped him to distract his thoughts from the seemingly endless night of Mirkwood, not that he would soon be heard to say that within anyone's hearing range. It helped him to relax and the relaxing helped him in falling off to sleep. And Mahal knew he needed his rest. Dwarves could handle much, but even they were affected by long marches, too little food and too little rest. The burglar seemed to handle it all rather well, even if he too did grumble about the lack of six or seven meals a day – or however many times a hobbit usually had a meal – and the long marches. For someone who was apparently used to go everywhere he went on foot, he was handling this rather badly.

The advisor wasn't at ease here either, but she managed so far. Thorin knew that her feet were sometimes aching, not because she said so, but because he could see it in the way she moved. But so far she had not been heard to utter one single complaint. It was as if she had decided now that she was truly part of the quest she had no longer a right to voice her problems. It didn't stop the company from noticing them anyway. Dori and Kíli – who had been remarking how skinny Kate was every other day since the beginning of the quest, getting on Kate's nerves a lot with that – had been seen to feed her from her own rations. Kate of course was not blind either and would slip it back to its rightful owners if she got as much as half a chance and if she didn't get a chance, it was deposited with either Ori or Bombur. It was an interesting redistribution of food and even more so because Kate and Thorin appeared to be the only ones to be fully aware of it.

He suspected that she had done it again last night, because the only sound coming from Bombur at the moment was his snoring and not the loud protests of his stomach. The forest was silent, or as silent as it ever would be, and that suited Thorin just fine. He had first watch with the advisor and for some reason they had ended up joking about Smaug's lack of skills in running a household. It was almost impossible for him to think of how they had ended up at a certain point of conversation in hindsight, but he found he enjoyed this. It also had the added bonus that imagining the dragon slaving away to make the Mountain clean distracted him from a whole bunch of problems that would demand his attention as soon as it would be light again.

'At least he would not have much trouble with getting the fire in the hearths going,' he remarked. No, breathing fire was one thing that did come easy to the fire drake.

To his right he could hear Kate trying and failing to stifle her laughter. But she was not the only one making a sound. Somewhere off in the distance he could hear other voices too. Or at least he thought it were voices. They were far away, hardly audible at all. It could just be the sound of animals in the forest, but for some reason that did not sound at all like a reasonable explanation.

'Cooking should not present much of a problem either, though he probably should take care not to burn his food,' Kate quipped. She obviously hadn't heard anything at all or she would have held her tongue.

And the joke was hardly funny at all. Thorin would not have laughed at it in normal circumstances. He might even have snapped at her, given her a tongue-lashing that she would not forget in a hurry for not remembering that a lot of Thorin's people had died in Smaug's terrible fire. As it was, it hardly registered in his mind now.

He strained his ears, trying to hear anything, blocking out Kate's instant apologies as she realised what it was that she had actually said. Well, it was good to know that she had come to see that her actions just now had not been what she would call a smart move, but it was not his main priority at the moment. It was much more important to find out if they had indeed been found out. He hoped not, of course he hoped not. They had lasted for more than a week in here without being discovered and part of him had started to hope that they would pass unnoticed by anyone. That hope was about to be stamped into the ground.

'_Nothing but stinking squirrel for five days_!' a voice complained rather loudly. '_How often do we need to tell the commander that there isn't any decent meat in here?_'

Thorin's heart stopped, or at least it was in danger of stopping when he realised that it was the orcs' language he was hearing. He had suspected that there may be elves coming their way – it was their forest after all – but this changed things. Yes, he had known that there were orcs travelling the Men-i-Naugrim as well, but all the tracks they had found so far had pointed east and it was obvious that they were travelling faster than the company, because every paw print they found was a little older than the one they had found before. He had honestly come to believe that whatever party was taking this road had business in the east, and was not truly searching for them at all.

But this party – consisting of at least two orcs, taken into account that the talking one was complaining to someone – was probably not hunting for them either. By the sounds of it this was a small hunting party, tasked with providing meat for a larger unit. Thorin had dealt with enough of that foul race to know a little of how they functioned. But to them dwarf would still make for a nice bit of meat and the dwarf king was not at all planning on being turned into an orc's dinner, not at all.

Kate was still apologising and if she went on like that, she would certainly alert the approaching orcs to their presence. 'Silence, woman!' he hissed impatiently. Had she truly not heard?

The advisor was trying once again to make herself heard, ignoring his command entirely, forcing him to repeat it, to absolutely no avail. He had already taken her wrist in one hand to get her attention, but now he found himself forced to clasp his other hand over her mouth to force her to shut up. Ten to one she did not like it and sent him a glare that he fortunately could not see right now, but her mood was of no importance to him.

He was about to explain to her what was going on when she distracted him and sunk her teeth into the hand he still held over her mouth. He cursed under his breath and moved the hand away. It didn't really hurt much, but it was a rather stinging sensation and a little unpleasant.

And she was furious, no doubt about that. 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' she hissed. She sounded a little like an angry snake when she spoke like that. 'Let me go, you big oaf! Dori's going to have your head for this if he finds out.'

He wanted to snap at her to sort out her priorities, but that would doubtlessly land them in an argument they could really do without right now. Instead he ordered her to listen. At first she did not seem willing to obey, too furious about what she certainly thought of as his unfair treatment, but eventually she went still and quiet and she listened.

'_Well, if you hadn't been so stupid as to scare off that deer we saw yesterday, we would have had meat now!_' another voice snapped. '_And then we would have been long back to the group by now, so don't you dare start blaming me!_'

'_You're blaming me then?_' the first voice demanded, full of righteous indignity.

Kate had gone rigid beside him. He could feel it since he still had her arm within his grasp. Thorin could feel her pulse underneath his hand and it had sped up the moment she realised what was going on. Even if she could not understand the language the orcs were using, she still understood that they were coming their direction and they could not see a thing, nothing at all.

'Wake the others,' he told her. 'Do it now.'

This command snapped them both out of the shock. Kate turned to Dori to shake him awake and Thorin turned left to wake Fíli. It was a system they had worked out after the first night. They could not make any light and shouting was not advisable either, so they needed a system which allowed them to wake quickly and quietly in case of an emergency. So now they slept in a circle and if there was danger they would each wake the person next to them until everyone was awake.

And it helped to have a routine, some sort of plan, even if it wasn't much of a plan. It still was something to fall back on and hopefully the orcs had not yet heard them. So far they had been rather quiet and the orcs were still busy trying to attach the blame for the failed hunt to one another, which gave them the opportunity to wake. Their enemies weren't moving fast, Thorin could tell. He didn't know if they were on foot or riding a warg yet, but either way they would not be able to move too fast in this darkness, lest they collided with one of the many trees or low branches. That might just give them what they needed to get ready for an attack.

'Orcs,' Dwalin's voice spat somewhere on the other side of the circle, summarising the problem rather effectively.

'Possibly two, not certain about the presence of wargs.' Thorin quickly filled in the rest of the blanks. 'Get to the side of the road, take all the packs with you. Do not stray into the forest, whatever you do.' He felt like he was echoing Gandalf and Beorn at the moment, but that hardly mattered now. What mattered was that they needed to come out of this adventure alive. 'Go, do it now!' he urged them.

He got up, grabbed his belongings with one hand and Kate with the other, after which he dragged both to the edge of the forest. He had forced himself to remember where that was, so he could easily guide them there now. Close by he could hear his companions do the same.

It was easy to tell when they had reached the side of the road. It was partially overgrown with plants that Thorin did not really want to know about what they were and it was easy to trip over them and land face first in the nearby bushes. He knew that if he really wanted to escape the orcs' notion, they should move away from the road entirely, but Gandalf's warning never to leave the path was too present in his mind to ignore. The wizard had given that warning for a reason and he also remembered what had happened in Kate's book when the company had left the relative safety of the path. He could not risk that.

'Duck,' he ordered the advisor, but several others who had chosen to wait it out on this side of the road did the same. Thorin followed his own advice and knelt down between Kate and someone else. In the dark it was impossible for them to determine who was where. If they did not talk one did not know who it even was that was sitting not half a metre away.

'Next time find a better way to shut me up, will you?' Kate hissed. She was angry, but quite possibly mostly scared if his experience with her was anything to go by. It was her way to try and think about other things rather than the dangerous matter at hand.

'Next time I will just let you go ahead and let you alert every orc in Mirkwood to our presence,' he shot back, finding himself unable to let it go, in spite of the fact that there were still orcs approaching and both of them should be keeping quiet. 'Be silent now, woman.'

He didn't need to hear her reply to feel the indignity radiating off her at being called woman, what she seemed to take as an insult, and although it wasn't exactly as bad as that, it wasn't a compliment either, so maybe she did have some point with it.

But it didn't matter now. What did matter was the orcs that came closer. It was hard to see anything in this wretched darkness, but when the light of torches found its way to where they were hiding, it was hard to miss. Thorin's eyes weren't used to light so bright and strong as that, not after more than a week in this damp forest without a fire and his first reaction was to blink until he was used to it. But he needed to be alert now and that would not do any of them any good.

The lights were dancing in a way that suggested they were carried by people who were sitting on a warg. They were at approximately the right height for that as well. And this was bad news. If it had been only orcs then they might have just passed them by, but with wargs it was another matter entirely. They would smell them out no matter what.

Their only luck was that there only seemed to be just the two orcs and their wargs and they were a company of fifteen. They had the upper hand and hopefully the element of surprise if they acted quickly. It would be difficult with so little light to go on, but not impossible. They had been given bows and arrows by Beorn, even if only half of them would be able to use them. Thorin knew that Dori and Fíli were what Kate called an absolute walking disaster zone when given a bow and the same could be said about at least six or seven others.

He nudged the person next to him. 'Yes?' He was in luck today. It was Kíli who responded.

'There are two wargs, two orcs,' he reported, although it was likely that his youngest sister-son had already worked that out for himself. 'Shoot the wargs first.'

'Aye,' was the simple reply. The lad may be young still, but he was good with the bow and he would see to it that no warg would come any closer than necessary. Thorin would readily admit that he had had his doubts about taking both Fíli and Kíli with him, but they had proven themselves many times over already. He knew he could rely on them. If only they weren't so prone to jump into the danger headfirst from time to time. The dwarf was quite sure some of his grey hairs were the direct consequence of their youthful enthusiasm.

The orcs were closer now and Thorin could see them by the light of their torches. One of them was rather large and he was obviously the one in charge, as seemed to be the way of the orcs. The other was smaller and he was the one who was still whining about the lack of decent food, that was not readily available in this forest, as any member of the company could tell them. They were a long way from Mr Baggins's pantry.

The wargs they were riding were both grey and just as ugly as their riders. The biggest one, the mount of the largest orc, had its nose almost pressed to the ground. It would not be long now before it would be able to pick up their scent; they were nearing the campsite that was entirely abandoned now, but everyone with eyes in their head could see that a large group had camped here not that long ago, even without the smell of dwarf all over the place.

Thorin let go of Kate's arm and gripped his sword with both hands, ready to storm out and attack these intruders at a moment's notice. He would have told Kate to stay where she was, had he not thought he would give away their location by speaking out loud. Hopefully she would be sensible enough to get the message without someone needing to spell it out to her.

The largest warg stopped and started growling, effectively distracting the orcs from their discussion. '_What's going on?_' the smallest orc asked, sounding a little annoyed. '_Hungry again, stupid beast?_'

'Kíli, now!' Thorin hissed.

Kíli's arrow hit the largest warg right in the eye, felling it before it had even the chance to stir up any more trouble. Its rider was thrown over its neck and onto the forest floor, landing with a loud groan. Kíli had an arrow in the other warg's neck before that beast even got the chance to react. By the light of the torches Thorin could see the archer vaguely, just enough to make out the complete concentration and determination with which he fired those arrows. This was no longer a child that knew nothing of the world, as Thorin had accused him of several months ago. He had grown up, all the younger members of the company had, and for some reason it made him feel sad, like he had lost something extremely valuable.

But this was not the time to ponder such things. They were still in danger. One of the wargs was dead, the other probably close to following. It was howling in agony and anger, thrashing wildly to get away from the pain the arrow caused. Kíli quickly fired another arrow and this one hit the beast in the eye, cutting off the loud howling rather abruptly.

This only left the two orcs and that they could deal with. The smallest was still struggling to his feet, but the other was already moving, ready to attack, and Thorin was not going to wait for him to assault them. This time the fight would go on their terms.

He practically launched himself out of the bushes and onto the middle of the road again, Orcrist drawn. He left his shield with Kate so that he could have both hands available to swing the sword around. He could hear some of his other companions moving now as well, but the voices sounded as if they came from a distance. Maybe it was because they were not important.

The only thing that truly mattered now was that he put an end to these monsters before they could run back to whatever master they served to report a group of dwarves moving over the Men-i-Naugrim. That was a risk they could not take and it was that exact thought that kept Thorin going. He had failed to protect his men so far, had always needed the help of others to get them out of a tight spot again, but not anymore. He could do this, had to do this, if only to prove to himself that he was worthy to be even called the leader of this company.

Dwalin was at his right, Balin at his left, the way he liked it. Fíli and Kíli were not far behind. The big orc did not laugh as Azog had done, but he was not afraid of them either. Nevertheless his attempts to defend himself against an entire company of dwarves proved rather fruitless. It didn't take them long to get the monster down and somehow it felt like a relief to the dwarf king to know that he had been the one to deal the killing blow.

'It was a hunting party,' Thorin explained to his men. He was quite sure Balin understood the language as well and the same was true for Dwalin, although to a lesser extent, but the rest must be fearing that they were Azog's scouts or something worse.

The orcs had dropped the torches, but they had remained alight, bathing the road and its occupants in a rather spooky light. Along with the three corpses on the floor it made for an altogether grim scene.

It was only then that Thorin and most of the others realised they were a corpse short. The smallest orc had gotten away.

* * *

From Thorin's notes: _How in Durin's name have we been able to miss that one?_

* * *

**Once again, thank you all for reading. It really means a lot. Next time decisions need to be made. In the meantime, reviews are still very welcome. Your opinion really matters to me.**


	38. Chapter 38 Counselling

**Chapter 38**

**Counselling**

_I think it's quite needless to say that there was quite a lot of tumult when we realised that we were missing an orc. I had been hiding in the bushes as Thorin clearly wanted me to – these days he didn't even need to say it for me to know – and had seen nothing. But the gist of the story is that all of the dwarves were far too focused on the biggest threat so that they had forgotten all about the smallest orc, everyone thinking that someone else was taking care of that while they were too busy to try and get the glory for the biggest kill. Very childish behaviour, come to think of it._

_In hindsight I can laugh about the absolute stupidity of my companions and maybe it is comical to see how stupid a bunch of adults can change into a group of yelling kids all trying to get to the most important orc. Admittedly, it was rather ridiculous, but it's always after the event has taken place and after everyone is out of danger that one can appreciate the complete absurdity of the situation._

_Needless to say that Thorin was not amused. In the chaos of the fight no one had seen when the orc had slipped away or in which direction he had fled. He could have run into the forest for all we knew, but there was no telling it for certain. He could be anywhere and that displeased a certain king, a lot. _

_Dwalin volunteered immediately to go and look for him, but Thorin forbade him from going. In this dark and with the torch, something he would have to take with him if he had no ambition to get lost, he would make for an easy target. Besides, we could always hope that the orc had lost sight of the path and had strayed into the forest itself. And it was quite certain that if this happened, he would never come out again, effectively ending the danger, since he had no one to tell his secret to._

_However, the option of the orc getting back to the main unit remained and if that was the case, then the risk of discovery was a lot higher than it had been before our unfortunate encounter with the orcs and their overgrown dogs. And there was not one single person in the company who was not uncomfortably aware of that particular possibility…_

**Kate**

It was a grim and somewhat frightening scene that had met Kate's eyes when she had crawled out of the bushes. The corpses of the wargs and the biggest orc were sprawled on the road, lying where they had fallen. It didn't make for a pleasant sight. The wargs had arrows sticking out of their bodies and the orc had almost been literally hacked to pieces. Both Thorin's and Dwalin's blades were black with the monster's blood. They had been the ones to do most of the killing.

Thorin looked dangerous, she decided. It wasn't because of the bloodied sword in his hands, but because of the wild and terrifying look in his eyes. Kate had heard Bofur explain that one of the orcs had gotten away and that was angering his king. Kate could hardly blame him for feeling this way. If that orc went back to whoever it was that he was serving, he could bring countless more enemies down on them and that was hardly a tempting prospect. Dwalin had already thrown in the notion of hunting the runaway orc, but Thorin had instantly slapped it down. Kate understood his reasoning, but it didn't make her like the idea of one of those monsters out there any better. Still, it was the most sensible thing to do. Thorin was the kind of person who would not risk a single one of his men on a fool's errand.

'Clear the road,' he ordered. The tone was snappish, but Kate had some experience with his behaviour in these situations. It was tension that made him come across as short-tempered as he did.

The advisor assumed that this meant that she too needed to lend them a hand. Fighting was one thing, but dragging corpses off a road was quite another. That wasn't dangerous, so she wouldn't be excluded from it, even if she really wanted nothing better than to stay away from the dead bodies. She knew they could not harm her, but they looked disgusting, covered in blood and she had no ambition to throw up because of the sight.

_Stop being such a baby_, she told herself firmly. _You're not at home anymore and around here girls don't get to squeal and faint at the sight of blood. Get a grip, Andrews._

Her mental scolding did nothing to lessen the feeling of needing to go and vomit anytime soon, but it helped her in putting herself together and help Dwalin, Dori and Bofur in trying to push the biggest warg into the bushes, where it could rot away for all Kate cared. The monstrous beast was rather large and it took the four of them a great deal of strength to push it to where they wanted it. If she was really honest, most of the work was of course done by her companions, since she had not much to contribute in terms of physical strength. But at least it gave her the feeling that she was doing something useful, something other than standing aside and watching while her friends did all the work.

'Good riddance,' Dwalin commented grimly when the warg at long last was more or less out of sight. The road was a little higher than its surroundings and the corpse rolled down the slope, swallowed up by the darkness that still ruled this forest outside the circle of light the orcs' torches caused.

Kate nodded, trying to catch her breath. She was not in a hurry to put her weakness on display for all to see, but shoving the warg out of the way had required a good deal of strength, strength that she did not possess. 'Indeed,' she agreed. Because it was a good thing that they had gotten rid of the monsters and the orc, even if it was all too likely that they would soon find themselves confronted with a lot more of that foul breed. Now that was something that made her actually want to throw up where she stood.

'Get some rest, lass.' To her surprise it was Dwalin and not Dori who ordered it. She had expected her brother to fuss over her till he dropped, but Dwalin wasn't prone to fussing. He just didn't do that. And thank goodness for that.

'I'm fine.' The reply was automatic, if not entirely truthful. But that was need to know information anyway. 'We have more important things to concern ourselves with now.'

She saw Dwalin exchange a look with Dori. Before she could even begin to figure out what that was all about, the warrior's hand had clasped her shoulder and he began to march her to the middle of the road. She struggled almost out of reflex.

'What the hell do you think you're doing?' she demanded, trying to wriggle free, with absolutely no results at all. Dwalin was a lot stronger than she was, a whole lot stronger.

And he definitely didn't take the trouble to answer, pushing her in between Balin and himself. The first had been talking to Thorin about something, but he quit his talking in favour of nodding at her. 'Good to see you, Kate,' he said.

She wasn't angry with the kind elderly dwarf, but she wasn't exactly in the best of moods today. 'I would have been better had I not been manhandled here,' she remarked a bit sourly. 'What am I doing here?'

She glanced around the circle. Thorin was here, as were Balin and Dwalin, who were his closest friends and advisors. Had she not been here, she might have said this was some kind of war council going on. These three were the ones who made the decisions in this company and she could make a fairly educated guess about what kind of decisions needed to be made. But this matter had nothing to do with her book, so she had absolutely no business being here. And besides, if Thorin did want to bring the book into the discussion, then he could use his own brain. He had seemed to be in the possession of one when last she checked.

'Ah, well, we need to decide what to do,' Balin replied, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him. Maybe it was. The oldest son of Fundin had always been rather accepting her presence in the company and lately she suspected him of trying to get her closer to his king as well. But that behaviour was starting to be customary in this company rather than an exception.

'I'm sure you don't need my input for that,' she pointed out.

Thorin's eyes were filled with cold fire. 'We do.' It was almost as if he was angry that she was trying to back out of this and Kate could not for the life of her figure out why. And that was leaving the fact that he had just admitted to them needing her input on this matter out of consideration. Had Thorin lost his mind?

It was only then that she remembered she had made an oath to advise him. She was probably duty-bound to assist in this matter, no matter how ill-suited she believed herself to be. And ten to one that was why Thorin was so angry about her refusal to be of any assistance. He was particularly touchy when it came to matters such as loyalty and the keeping of oaths. And taken into account that she had been about to break an oath, she could hardly blame him for almost flying off the handle. And there was going to be some kind of conversation coming from this later, she could be sure of that.

She shrugged, tried to make it appear as if it did not matter much. 'Fine,' she gave in. 'Have it your way. What would it be you want my help with?'

Thorin sent her a wry look and then looked away, obviously with every intention of ignoring her, making Kate wonder why he wanted her here in the first place. This crisis seemed to have reversed every change in their working relationship. He was tense and on edge. He clearly did not have any time for jests and she had been about to break her vow. That made him a very difficult person to deal with right now and Kate decided not to push the matter any further. She didn't want him to snap.

Fortunately Balin decided to step in before things could get any worse than they already were. 'We must decide what to do now,' he announced. It was rather unnecessary to say, because Kate had more or less worked that out for herself already, but it did make them all turn to the matter at hand.

'Are there more orcs ahead?' Kate inquired. The orcs had been talking, but she hadn't understood a word of what they had said. But she knew that the leader of this company understood the orcs' tongue, as one of the few in the company.

Thorin gave a curt confirmative nod. 'Aye. They spoke of a main unit further down the road,' he replied, still pointedly ignoring her gaze. Of dear, someone was mad at her and he was determined to show her. She decided to blame his grumpy behaviour on the current crisis. None of them were on their best behaviour right now. She could hardly blame him for not being so either. 'They did not say how many or where precisely they were. These two were only a hunting party.'

'Not scouts?' Dwalin checked. The warrior was obviously dying to chase the remaining orc, but Thorin's explicit order held him back.

'No scouts,' Thorin confirmed.

Well, that was a relief. 'At least that means that they're not actively searching for us, right?' the advisor asked. 'They do not know we are here.' At least for now they were safe. It was highly unlikely there would be an army bearing down on them anytime soon. It gave them a bit of breathing space, even when it was eventually only delaying the inevitable.

'Yet,' Balin added. 'They will soon enough if that orc runs straight back to where he came from. They will hunt us before long.'

Dwalin and Thorin nodded in agreement. 'Our options are limited.' Thorin's stare was pensive. He was staring off into the distance and Kate would bet that he did not see a single thing. She had seen him like this before. It was similar to what she herself tended to do when confronted with a problem. Her mind raced ahead, weighing the possibilities and the risks, coming to a conclusion before anyone had even said a thing. Thorin was a lot like her in that particular regard.

'Three options as far as I can see.' The words had left her mouth before she had even given herself permission to do so. In the short silence her mind had been working overtime as well.

Apparently that was not something that was expected of her here though, despite the fact that she was here to advise. Good grief, Dwalin had even practically dragged her to this little council. But now the warrior was sending her an incredulous look and Balin too seemed to be surprised as well.

As it was Thorin was the only one who seemed to unsurprised. He nodded thoughtfully. 'I agree our options are limited, but we have some. Four, I'd say.' Whatever foul mood he had been sliding into, the debate had snapped him out of it. It reminded Kate of when they were planning strategy based on her book.

And that was something she could deal with. It was very much like a brainstorm session with her colleagues and it came as easily as breathing to her. 'Hide in the forest in the hopes the orcs will not dare enter it?' she asked in a dismissive voice. 'Then it's most likely that we will never even see the light of the sun again. That's not an option, that's suicide.'

A little too late she realised that this had not been the wisest course of action. Thorin was already edgy and she had just told him one of his plans was completely ridiculous. He never took well to her dismissing his plans as rubbish, and she had not only done that, she had also done it in front of his two closest friends. He was not going to take well to that, she could tell from experience.

And he didn't. The look he sent her should have killed her instantly if looks had such power. But it didn't get any further than that. Fortunately he too seemed to have realised that they had nothing to gain and everything to lose from bickering amongst themselves. 'I did not consider that as a real option, Kate,' he informed her icily. The tone of voice had made her anticipate the return of the dreaded Miss Andrews, but he stuck to her first name. It wasn't that bad, yet. 'But we do need to consider it.'

_We have considered it and dismissed it_. The thought was dying to come out, but she had possibly vexed him enough for one day. There was no need to irritate him even further. She did value her life after all. Instead she settled for a nod. 'I understand.' She didn't, but it would keep him happy. And she was all too aware that this was not a private session. They did have an audience this time.

'What other options do we have, laddie?' This time it was Balin who spoke. From the way he was talking Kate guessed he had been about to suggest the option Thorin and she both had just disapproved of.

'We can turn back, stay or press on.' Once again her mouth was faster than her brain and the words came rolling from her lips unchecked even before she realised she had not been the one that had been addressed just now, making her want to bang her head against a wall for being so bloody stupid.

Thorin however nodded. He sent her a stern look to go with it, but he did not verbally reprimand her. Clearly the current crisis took precedence now, but the advisor had no doubt she would be scolded for her actions later. It was almost inevitable. 'Those are indeed our only options,' he agreed in that cold and formal voice of his. He tended to slip into that mode whenever he was confronted with something that unsettled him, making Kate wonder if she or the orcs were the culprits for this behaviour this time. She decided she did not want to know.

Instead she weighed the possibilities. They would have nothing to gain from remaining where they were now, in her opinion. It felt like they were lambs waiting to be slaughtered and every fibre of her being rebelled against the thought of sitting back and waiting while their end drew nearer. She may not be that much of a fighter, but she'd rather die doing something, _anything_, even if she was doomed to fail. And sitting here, waiting for something to happen, well, that felt like they had already fought and lost. And that was something she was not quite ready to accept just yet. Her intention of getting home alive and in one piece still stood and sitting here, waiting for orcs to come and slaughter them, might just interfere with that goal.

The second option was turning back. And that too was something that felt like defeat to her. Running away from their enemies like they were cowards on the run. Besides, she didn't like the thought of showing their enemy their backs very much, because that meant they could not see them coming when the time came. And come they would, because they had wargs and those monsters moved a whole lot faster than dwarves, a hobbit and a woman.

And they had come so far already. Thorin had said he had believed them to be halfway through these dreaded woods. Turning back now and making for the northern route would cost them time and the time was passing rapidly. Already the nights were getting chilly again and Durin's Day was drawing ever closer. If they turned back now, there was every chance that they would not make it to the Mountain by the estimated time and then they would have to wait a whole year before they could try and enter Erebor again. If she knew Thorin at all, he would not be prepared to risk his quest now. Ever since the dwarf had seen his kingdom from the back of the eagle, it was as if someone had lit a fire inside him. He could not turn back now, even if he wanted, and Kate knew for a fact that he did not want such a thing at all.

And that left them with the one other choice: pressing on, meeting the orcs head on. That was probably no less a suicide mission than hiding in the woods, but, come to think of it, their survival chances were not very good whichever direction they went. The thought of literally marching toward their doom was not a very encouraging one, and it made Kate want to tremble and scream in fear, but that would not do her any good. This was something she would have to face, like it or not. She thought that she had known that from the moment she had first realised one of the orcs had gotten away, maybe even before that. And she had decided that she rather met her enemy head on than to run or wait. When it came down to it, there did not seem to be a choice at all.

One look at Thorin and she could see he concurred. They had more of these moments over the last few weeks, starting from their stay in Beorn's house, the moment he had read the book and had accepted its contents. Sometimes all it took was one look. They were in agreement over this one.

But perhaps it would be best to let him be the one to deliver the news to the other two. Kate had almost forgotten about them again, but since they did not make much of a contribution to the council, maybe that was understandable. Both sons of Fundin were struck dumb by something and were now watching king and advisor with a disbelieving look in their eyes.

Kate frowned, wondering what on earth had brought that on, only to realise that the way she interacted with Thorin was probably sufficient to make eyebrows get stuck halfway their foreheads. She knew Thorin and Dwalin were friends, and the king trusted Balin's judgement almost more than his own, but neither of them treated Thorin as Kate did. For all she knew this was entirely inappropriate.

She was just about ready to bang her head against the nearest tree for not thinking of this before she effectively managed to talk herself into trouble again, when Thorin interrupted her thoughts. 'We press on,' he announced.

Balin seemed doubtful. 'Thorin, we'll be walking into a trap.' He wasn't outright questioning his king's decision, but he made it clear it didn't make him do a happy dance around the camp either.

'But they won't expect us.' Dwalin's eyes, although still looking at her incredulously, were gleaming, catching on to the plan. 'They'd expect us to run. If they find us close by, they will be surprised.' He nodded thoughtfully, or as thoughtfully as Dwalin could get. 'It gives us an advantage.'

This was the strategist talking. Kate made a mental note never ever to underestimate the taciturn dwarf again. He may not say much, but he was very intelligent and knew what he was doing. And he had years and years of war experience to work with. If anyone knew how to deal with a small army of orcs, it would be him. And by the looks of things he, unlike his brother, approved of the plan, suicidal though it may be. In hindsight Kate should have expected it. It was just like him to want to go down fighting.

'Could we do it?' she asked. 'Make use of such an advantage, I mean?' _Do we stand a chance?_ That was what she wanted to ask, but she could bite it back just in time. It would make her sound like even more of a coward than Dwalin already thought her to be and she could do without that.

He understood it all the same, but her desperate and frightened plea for reassurance wasn't met with the angry scowl she'd expected. 'We can,' he said with a curt, but not unsympathetic nod of the head.

'We'll move out at first light,' Thorin decided, loud enough for everyone else to hear as well. 'Bombur, Fíli, stand watch. The rest, try to rest while you can.'

It was the most sensible decision in the given circumstances. The orcs were unlikely to attack tonight and they would all need their rest. It didn't feel like a very good plan, because some irrational voice in the back of her head taunted her with the idea of orcs sneaking up on her and slicing her throat while she was resting, even when that was by no means a realistic prospect.

So she nodded her consent and made to retrieve her bag and bedroll from where she had deposited them when she had gone to help the others to push the warg off the road. Balin and Thorin were turning away as well to do the same with their belongings. She supposed that they would make camp on the middle of the road again, if a little distance away from the place where the fighting had happened. No one wanted to sleep with corpses too close to them. It just felt wrong.

Kate however had not even made two steps when she felt her upper arm being grasped in a death grip. She only knew one person alive who did such a thing and so she turned. 'Thorin, you really ought to stop doing that! One of these days you'll…' She stopped dead in her tracks however when she realised it was not the dwarf king she was talking to. 'Dwalin?' She tried and failed to keep the confusion out of her voice. 'Is anything the matter?' She had absolutely no idea what he wanted with her.

The warrior's eyes were serious. 'I may not like you,' he said bluntly. This was not boding very well and Kate unconsciously held her breath, mentally bracing herself for what was to come. 'But you're good for him. And I cannot blame you for that.'

This did not make any sense at all and Kate found herself staring at him. 'I'm sorry?' What on earth did he mean?

Dwalin did not seem to notice her confusion or if he did he chose to ignore it. 'Just make sure you do right by him,' he told her, making it sound like a threat, which it probably was. He let her go then, leaving her in the middle of the road, letting her wonder what in heaven's name had just happened.

**Thorin**

When dawn came, it came like a gift from Mahal himself. The remainder of the night had passed very much like the one they had spent on the borders of Mirkwood. Everyone but the watchers pretended to sleep, but there was an absence of snoring that told Thorin everything he needed to know. He himself had not been able to sleep. He knew he should; he couldn't keep going on too little rest indefinitely. But his mind was troubled and in the dark of night every sound in the forest was an approaching orc army.

Kate had slept close to him, as they had gotten used to over the last week. Thorin knew it worsened the gossip that was already going round, but under the given circumstances everyone kept close together for safety. Although, admittedly it would be better – not in the least for Dori's peace of mind – if she were to camp with her brothers. He had asked her about that, teased her about it more like, and the advisor had demanded of him if he had ever tried to sleep sandwiched between Dori and Nori, both of them snoring like circular saws, whatever those were supposed to be. He had let the matter go then. He did not really mind her company. If he was really honest he even found himself seeking it out from time to time.

The advisor had spent the rest of the night curled up under her cloak next to him. Thorin had felt the urge to pull her head into his lap again, but had refrained from it when he realised he had set out watchers, who could see everything he did by the light of the torches. It wasn't that he believed that there would be much talk with everything that was going on right now, but he wasn't going to push his luck. If last night had taught him something, then it was that luck seemed to be in very short supply right now.

His worst fears had come true. He had known there was a distinct possibility of them coming true and yet it had shaken him worse than he was willing to admit. He would stand by what he had decided: they would not turn back. But he feared the road ahead. He feared what would become of his company when they would be confronted with an army of orcs. That he did not know how many of them there were only served to make things worse. If he knew what to expect, then he could anticipate it. Right now he knew nothing: nothing of their number, their leader or their whereabouts. The not knowing was a torture in and out of itself.

He did not fear for himself. If he was really honest, he had never done that. Between the sons of Fundin and possibly the company advisor as well that was done more than enough already. He had long ago accepted that this quest may claim his life and if his life was the price that needed to be paid to reclaim the Mountain, then it was a price well worth paying.

He was just not prepared to let anyone else pay it for him and with orcs ahead of them that was a risk he had never been prepared to take. But there wasn't a choice in the matter. Turning back was no option, and it would probably do them no good either way, and staying where they were would in the end only serve to make the orcs' job easier. He had not had a choice in anything since this quest had begun and now was no different from those times.

But Mahal knew he longed for a choice in this matter, anything that would save him the need of having to lead the men he had under his protection straight into the waiting arms of bloodthirsty orcs, anything that would not require him leading his men to what could be their doom. The way things were looking now it was not unlikely that none of them would ever make it out of these woods alive again.

The darkness seemed to subside somewhat, if only slightly. Dawn wasn't much of a dawn in this wood. The only thing that indicated that somewhere outside the sun had risen was the black darkness around them fading to grey tones. But at least they had some light to see by now and that had to count for something. As soon as he could make out his men's shapes, he got to his feet, nodded to Bombur and Fíli and began to pack his own belongings together again.

The fact that his companions got to their feet as soon as they realised the others were moving about confirmed Thorin's theory that none of them had been sleeping. He didn't think any of them could as long as this crisis had not been truly dealt with. Only then and not earlier would he be able to get enough peace of mind to rest and sleep.

Bombur handed out a meagre breakfast, clearly not happy with the rations. The dwarf king doubted anyone was happy with them, but it was just the way it was. As it was, their food supplies would probably last till they were out of this blasted forest and once they were out they would be able to hunt again, live on what the land itself could offer them. This land, as it turned out, had not yet provided them with anything. It wasn't a surprise, since the book had already informed him of this, but he would readily admit that it was a slight disappointment.

'Stop fussing!' Kate's annoyed voice interrupted his thoughts and when he turned around he was just in time to see the owner of the voice back away from her eldest brother, who had clearly been trying to help her with something. 'Believe it or not, I can look after myself. I am not a child anymore.'

Thorin almost pitied her. Dori's fussing over the rest of the company was sometimes bad enough, but when it came to his family, the grey-haired dwarf really knew no limits. Having the Ri brothers as kin for Kate was sometimes a very good thing, because it saved Thorin from having to worry over her in dangerous situations, but he could imagine that it could be more than a little annoying when nothing dangerous was threatening to eat them or attack them. And if anyone hated that kind of mother hen behaviour, then it was the company advisor.

They continued their bickering in lower voices as to not alert every sentient being in Mirkwood to their presence, but it was clear from the way Kate was looking that things weren't improving and her temper was dangerously close to snapping once again. There was a fire burning in those grey eyes and Thorin had seen that look directed at him often enough to know exactly what it meant.

The camp was broken up and they would start moving again soon, so maybe it was time to launch a rescue mission. And it would distract him from his gloomy thoughts and that was more than welcome. The only thing he wasn't yet certain of was who he would be rescuing from whom. Brother and sister appeared to be in equal measures of danger. Dori was in danger of getting his head ripped off by his seriously annoyed sister and Kate was in danger of being mollycoddled to death by her overbearing eldest brother.

'Dori, Kate,' he greeted as he joined them.

'Thorin,' Dori acknowledged.

'Morning.' Kate sounded a little sour, no wonder with the mood she was in.

If it was distraction he had been looking for, he had found it. Already the corners of his mouth seemed to take on a life of their own, curling up of their own volition. He suppressed the smile before it was fully formed though, because Mahal help him if Kate came under the impression that he was making fun of her. Then it would be his head getting ripped off. 'Dori, might I borrow your sister for a while?' he inquired politely. Strictly speaking he could borrow her without anyone's permission, but Dori was already under the impression that something was going on between the two of them and it would be much better to be safe than to be sorry.

That of course was a subtlety that passed Kate by entirely. 'Said sister is standing right here,' she informed them.

Dori ignored that. He had deluded himself into thinking that it was his job to mother his younger siblings and in his eyes that meant that he arranged their entire lives for them if only given half a chance. As admirable as his devotion to his family was, Thorin could very easily imagine that it must feel stifling to said younger siblings, especially to Kate, since she was used to rule her own life as she saw fit.

'What do you want her for?' he questioned. The tone of voice wasn't hostile yet, but it was certainly bordering on it. He was suspicious of Thorin's intention towards the advisor. Clearly he did not believe the explanation that they were friends at all. Lately he had taken to keeping as close to them as he could, almost literally staring holes in Thorin's back when he thought his king did something inappropriate. He didn't think this had escaped Kate's notice, but like him she seemed to sense that an argument about this subject would be nothing short of useless, so they let it be.

Most of the time. His temper was already tried after last night. 'You _are_ aware that Kate is my advisor?' he asked the other dwarf in as icy a tone as he could manage.

'_Your_ advisor?' Dori echoed.

Too late he realised that although his words were the truth, he could have used other words to avoid Dori flying off the handle. The possessive pronoun would have set Dori off either way and his mood wasn't too well already. 'My advisor, yes,' he nodded. 'I am the person being advised,' he added for good measure. _In Durin's name, do not let him get the wrong impression. _The last thing they needed now was a fight amongst themselves, not when the orcs would be more than willing to finish them off when they came.

'It's all right.' Kate was looking highly uncomfortable and irritated at the same time, both of which Thorin could explain. The anger stemmed from a strong desire to deal with matters herself, while the awkwardness found its roots in practically the same thing. She just didn't really know how to deal with this, but experience had taught him that she would soon surrender to the anger. It was her way. 'If Thorin wants my advice, that's fine. We're done here anyway.'

The last sentence was more of a command than a casual remark and was accompanied by one of the sternest stares Thorin had ever seen. Angry stares, aye, that he had personal experience with. The commanding side of Kate was still somewhat new to him, even if he had seen flashes of it. He remembered the first day of the journey when the then still very unwilling advisor had demanded answers of a very reluctant wizard. He remembered thinking that she must have been some kind of authority figure in her own time. Back then that impression had soon faded again, but he had seen it resurface at Beorn's house when she had taken it upon herself to organise whatever needed doing before they left for Mirkwood. He had seen a leader then, an equal.

And lately he saw more and more of that woman. It was a more mature version of the Kate that had stormed out of Bag End calling him Mr High and Mighty. She was still stubborn and independent, still loud-mouthed and impulsive, but there was some depth to it now. Thorin could not quite explain it, but something was different and he was certain that it was a change for the better. She seemed to think more, seemed to be willing to listen more. And ever since he read the book their friendship had started to grow from a friendship-on-mutual-agreement to a real, genuine companionship that felt natural and strong. For the first time since the human woman had joined the quest, Thorin realised that he would regret it when she returned to her own world. If she ever lived long enough to return to her own world.

That brought him back to the here and now. He nodded politely at Dori and then strode away, confident that the point had been made and also confident that Kate would be following him before long, even if he was likely to get an earful for his behaviour just now. And he would welcome it with open arms, because it was a distraction.

The company was on the move now and Thorin took his place at the head of the column. He may not be able to prevent another run-in with his lifelong enemies, but he would go in first, meet them head on before any of the others. It was his duty as a king. First to attack, last to pull back. That rule had been instilled in him since he was old enough to walk and talk. And they were good rules to live by, honourable ones. There was however nothing honourable about leading his men to their own death.

'You know, if you thought that was subtle, I've got bad news for you.' The sarcastic remark announced the arrival of the advisor.

And Thorin welcomed her presence, even if he would never be heard to say such a thing within hearing distance of anyone. Right now it was the much needed distraction. Dwalin was a friend as well, but he would want to talk strategy and that was the one thing Thorin could not face now, not when there was no strategy that could truly be discussed. They did not know what exactly they would be facing or when they would be facing it. There was no preparing themselves. When the time came they would fight and that was all that could be said for it.

'I was helping out a friend,' he informed her.

And Kate was quite possibly just as desperate for distraction as he was, if her reaction was any indication. 'Oh, was that what it was?' She kept her voice light, but it was forced and Thorin knew it. The woman was scared and used her humour to mask just how terrified she was. He could not fault her for it. 'Because from where I was standing it reminded me a lot of Jacko warning off my boyfriend. Admittedly that was when I was fifteen and the guy did turn out to be a self-important bastard, but still, there are certain similarities.'

Thorin tried to figure out if she had just been trying to tell him that he was not a self-important bastard in her very own diplomatic way, but he could not be sure and asking her would doubtlessly end up in an answer that he did not want to hear. She would use that as a way to embarrass him and the comparison with her real brother and a boyfriend – he was a little confused as to why the mention of a boyfriend made him want to kick something, so he banished it to the back of his mind and forced himself not to think about it anymore – was already alarming enough. He was sure he would be placed in the role of boyfriend, not a word he thought fitting for a king of Durin's line. Well, he certainly would not be the brother and in that case him interfering could have given off the completely wrong signs. Again.

Kate seemed to have read his mind. She chuckled. 'You know, if we want to set them right about the obvious lack of a relationship, we should perhaps stop giving the wrong impression time and again, what with you trying to be the knight in shining armour right now and involving me in the war councils and all that.'

'Are you saying it is _my_ fault?' He did like Kate as a friend, valued her company and even her opinion these days, but this was absurd and he could not help but react to it.

Kate rolled her eyes at him, not at the very least impressed with the snarled question that had been known to send a younger Fíli and Kíli running for the cover of their mother's skirts. It had also been known to make many an ordinary dwarf back off, which was distinctly more impressive than making his own sister-sons run in fear. It did however not affect the human woman.

Maybe it was a result of their new friendship, but then, he never had been able to order her into silence and obedience. Kate had been like this since the day they met. Maybe, he pondered, it was one of the reasons he put up with her at all, considered her a friend. Most of the women he met – those of his own folk, mind – had so much respect for him they hardly dared to open their mouth in his presence. The very few women he had met from the race of Men had looked down on him with disdain, feeling themselves high above him in every sense of the word. Kate was none of those. It made her interesting, a riddle, because he could never quite figure her out, even if her face was a book open to read for all who had eyes to see.

'Didn't I say _we_?' Kate asked innocently.

'Then what, pray, is it that you have done to give the wrong impression?' He was curious. He could think of a few things, but he wondered if she would acknowledge them. He rather doubted it.

She hesitated for a moment. 'I seek out your company.' Her cheeks were a bright crimson and she avoided meeting his eyes, almost as if she was confessing a crime. 'And we bicker like an old married couple, according to Fíli, and last I checked it took two to argue.'

Seeking out his company indeed. That was what most likely had annoyed Dori so, especially since the other dwarf seemed to think that Thorin was in some ways bad for his sister. The dwarf king indeed found it hard to argue with the bruising he had unwillingly and unknowingly caused on Kate's arms, but he had hoped Dori would back off after their conversation outside Mirkwood.

'A grave crime indeed,' he commented with some sarcasm.

She looked at him in confusion for a moment. Then she shook her head and laughed. 'I'm still trying to get used to your sense of humour. You know what, you should use that on Azog.'

The atmosphere changed in a matter of seconds with the mention of the Defiler's name. He had almost forgotten about the danger, but this brought it back to the forefront of his mind. He did not know who commanded the orcs they were likely to encounter, but it could very well be him.

Kate seemed to sense his change of mood. 'Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything.' She shot him an apologetic look.

_No, you should make fun of this_. 'Humour is good, Kate,' he told her. It helped him cope with everything the world kept throwing at him.

He stopped dead at that. Thorin knew his hearing was good and he could have sworn he heard something just now. The was vaguely aware that his company came to a halt behind him, but he could not truly focus on that now.

'What is it?' Kate had lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper, somehow sensing that something was off, which was an altogether welcome change from how things had gone last night.

He beckoned her to be quiet and listened harder. The road wasn't straight and there could be all kinds of things just around the next bend in the path or the next, obscured from view by the large trees and thick bushes of Mirkwood. This could still be a group of animals moving around.

_But it isn't_. Maybe this was paranoia induced by last night's events, but he did not believe so. This was something else. And he would rather be safe than sorry, because they could not wait until whatever it was that was approaching – for approaching it was – had come close enough for them to see.

'Up into the trees,' he hissed. 'Do it now.' _And Mahal give that we will be able to live and fight another day._

* * *

From Kate's notes: _I have no idea what it is that he just heard, but something tells me that this can't be good._

* * *

**Next time Kate is going to do something incredibly stupid. Until then, reviews would be very much appreciated. I love to hear what you think!**


	39. Chapter 39 Suicidal

**Chapter 39**

**Suicidal**

_Thoren, do you remember that first time we took you on a diplomatic visit to the Iron Hills? It was summer, the roads were safe and we travelled with a very small company so that we would be able to make more speed, so that hopefully we would make it back to Erebor before Durin's Day. The sun was shining and you were joking with Narvi, presumably teasing him about his obsession with Duria (if his facial colour was any indication). I think I was having a relaxed conversation with your father when the orcs ambushed us and Thorin changed from his normal self into a battle commander right away._

_That was what happened that day as well. One moment he was teasing me, the next he had slipped into his role of a determined battle commander in an instant and in a way that was a bit frightening. It was like he had become a different person altogether. He ordered us to go up into the trees and most of our companions hurried to comply. There wasn't a lot of choice in that either. We could not hide in the bushes as we had done the previous night. They were so thick that I doubted even a small mouse could have hidden in it and at any rate it would not do us any good if the enemy had wargs at their disposal. Those bloody dogs would smell us out within seconds. _

_Running into the forest was out of the question for obvious reasons and running was not something we felt inclined to do either. And remaining on the road was practically the same thing as suicide. As long as we didn't know who or what we were dealing with precisely, the trees really were our best option. It would not help us to avoid detection, not if wargs would pick up our scent, but it would stop them from getting at us immediately. Trees also had the added bonus of allowing us to shoot at them, while they shooting at us might prove to be a little bit more difficult. Beorn had given us bows and arrows and if the grim expressions of my companions were any indication, they were prepared, no, determined to use them if they were given as much as half a chance…_

**Thorin**

For a moment time seemed to stop, but then the company sprang into action without as much as a second thought and Thorin was grateful for it, even if it was no less than he had expected. It was like it had been last night. They learned that there was a crisis and acted on it without asking questions.

Even the company advisor seemed to have realised that freezing into place wasn't the best way to deal with a crisis. She was giving the burglar a hand in getting up the nearest tree. This tree may have been an oak once, before the whole blasted forest had gotten infected with only Mahal knows what exactly. The bark was so dark it was almost entirely black and the same could be said about the leaves. It looked threatening and not at all like a good place to hide, but there wasn't much choice. Thorin stayed down until he knew for certain that everyone had left the ground and then followed Kate and Mr Baggins into the tree.

The dread was settling in his stomach for real now, because this felt awfully much like that time they had hurried up into the trees after escaping the angry goblins of the Misty Mountains, only to find themselves cornered first by their pet wargs and then by Azog and his merry bunch of misfits, as the advisor had eloquently described them. And the worst thing was that they had absolutely no way of preventing this encounter from going down the exact same road. And he didn't allow himself to believe that suddenly eagles would come swooping in to assist them. That would be a foolish notion.

And Thorin knew that these were the main unit of orcs that the hunting orcs had mentioned last night. He could not say how he knew. He just knew. There weren't many other people who had a reason to be on the Men-i-Naugrim these days and with good reason too. These woods were too dark, too dangerous, too close to Dol Guldur, even if that fortress was still many miles south of them. But the sick forest was a clear sign that whatever dark force dwelled there had influence on what happened many leagues north of his domain.

'Orcs?' came Kate's soft voice from next to him.

Thorin strained his ears and listened. The enemy was closer now. He could hear the sound of feet marching and the low growl of a warg thrown into the mix of sounds. It was as he had feared. Only orcs marched in such a manner and only orcs made use of wargs. Before now he may have entertained the hope that this was an elven patrol – which didn't necessarily make things any better, but at least they had a slightly better chance of not getting killed right away – but the noises this small army made were sufficient to make that hope go right down the drain.

He nodded. 'Aye, those are orcs.'

It was hard to see properly in this light, but the pale colour on Kate's face was unmistakable and Thorin was hard pressed not to feel sorry for her. Something still told him the woman had no business being here at all. But rationally he knew that since a few weeks she actually had. This may still not be her world and she may not have come here willingly, but she had made this quest her own and she had chosen this path, knowing the dangers of it full well. He blamed his worry on wanting to protect the female in the company.

'Charming,' Kate commented. It was another shot at humour, Thorin could tell, and he was grateful for it. It would help them in coping.

From where he was sitting he could hardly see the members of his company, but he could see the road rather well. When the orcs came round the bend in the road he had a perfect view, even if he immediately wished that he wasn't so privileged. It was a group of approximately fifty orcs, having ten wargs with them. They were heavily outnumbered, the dwarf knew, and they had hardly any advantage at all.

The worst thing perhaps was the sight of their leader. Azog the Defiler was sat atop a huge warg. It was a different warg than he had rode back when they had first clashed, he observed. It was just as huge as the one he had before, but its fur was of a different shade. It was still white, but bordering on grey. He had a faint recollection of an eagle grabbing the white warg just before he had passed out. It would be safe to say that that monster had not come out of that encounter alive. And good riddance too.

The Defiler himself was unchanged, save for a still healing, rather serious looking wound on one of his legs. Seeing that made Thorin almost smirk. He remembered that Kate had slashed open one of Azog's legs just before she herself got hit. In Thorin's mind it seemed fitting that both the persons Azog wanted had somehow left their mark. Because the dwarf king had seen enough wounds in his life to know that that wound would scar permanently.

'_The dwarves are hiding in their trees again_!' Azog's words were accompanied by one of the most fearsome grins Thorin had even seen. He had ordered his army to stop when the wargs had inevitably picked up the company's scent on the road. He had known this would happen the moment he had first seem the wargs, had known that it would be too much to expect that they would not notice it. Still, it was a disappointment. The only advantage they had now was that Azog had not yet seen where they were hiding out. It was a small consolation, but a consolation all the same. Oh, the Defiler knew they were in the trees, since they could hardly be anywhere else, but his searching gaze betrayed that he had not yet figured out in which trees they were hiding out.

'Speak a language we can all understand,' Kate muttered next to him. She was clinging to the tree for dear life, reminding the dwarf an awful lot of how things had been when Azog had first cornered them, but there was something else there as well this time: determination. It was as clear as daylight on her face. There was a will to fight, not to run away and hide. And that was a change, one Thorin was grateful for, even if he did not know where it had come from.

'He knows we're in the trees,' Thorin reported in a whisper as to not alert Azog to their exact whereabouts. 'He doesn't know which ones.'

'He has a whole forest to choose from,' Kate commented, the barest hint of irony audible in her voice. It was the humour shield again, but as long as it would help them in keeping their spirits up, Thorin would not complain. Mahal knew the hobbit was looking as if he was about to faint already. And if he did, he would end up as dog's dinner, which would be regrettable. Thorin still wasn't entirely convinced that the halfling was indeed useful, but he had demonstrated some burglar skills and the book was of the opinion that Bilbo Baggins would be of great use before the end of the quest. Thorin would rather see that for himself first, but he wouldn't see anything if the hobbit got himself eaten now.

At that moment they were distracted by a yelp of pain and a sound of warg in agony. Thorin's head swivelled around to take in the scene, just in time to see one of the wargs crash to the ground, an arrow sticking out of its neck. It crushed its rider underneath its body, hence the orc's yelping.

If Thorin could have yelled at his sister-son without alerting every orc within a three mile radius to his presence, he would have done so. Kíli had just given away in which tree he had hidden when there was no need for revealing himself just yet. Azog didn't know yet in which trees they were, but now Kíli's youthful stupidity had given him a target. And furthermore it also served to enrage the orcs. Thorin did not think they actually cared about the death of their comrade and their pet dog, but they did not take well to being attacked. It was in their nature to strike back and they would not hesitate in killing any dwarf they could get their hands on.

'Fool,' he cursed under his breath when Azog's eyes strayed to the tree in which Kíli was hidden. The smirk on the Defiler's face, because that was truly the only way it could be described, didn't bode well. The dwarf king could feel his hands clench into fists and he had to fight his hardest not to throw caution to the non-existent wind and rush out to fight, get that monster away from his family. Azog had had that exact same look on his face when he had held up Thrór's head for all to see and the memory assaulted him, made him want to jump out of this tree to attack to prevent history from repeating itself. It took all his strength to remember that for the moment Azog could not reach anyone.

A hand found its way to his fist, folding itself over it and giving it a gentle squeeze. He didn't need to look up to know that this was Kate's hand. No dwarf had such small and delicate hands as she had and the hobbit wouldn't dream of doing this. It had to be her. And when he checked he found that he was right. Kate's face seemed to have frozen into stone, but when she caught him looking she conjured up a tentative smile that nonetheless didn't quite reach her eyes. There was fear, even if she was unwilling to show it. He could not blame her for that. All her experiences with orcs so far had given her more than enough reason to fear them.

'Don't give him the satisfaction,' she reminded him, almost sternly.

He did an attempt at humour, hoping that would help him in controlling his anger that was urging him to jump out of this tree and to attack the orcs no matter what the cost. 'Advice doesn't work if it is given to the person that first gave it to you,' he told her, remembering all too well that it had been him who had first said this to Kate, back in Goblin-town when the fear was overwhelming her.

'Then what happened to _practise what you preach_?' she shot back. The smile seemed more genuine now. The witticisms didn't do much to help Thorin, but they did seem to distract Kate and that had to be worth something at least.

And for her sake he tried to keep it up, desperate for anything that would keep him grounded until his brain had fully caught up with his feelings. He remembered all too well what had happened when he had last tried to face down Azog and it had not gone quite according to plan.

'I said _do as I say_, not _do as I do_,' he retorted.

Kate snorted. 'And thank goodness for that. Something tells me that brooding thing you do would not suit me at all.'

Bilbo was looking at them as if they had just lost their mind. It was clearly entirely beyond him how they could joke, of all things to do, when there were so many other things to be worrying about. He did not know that it was a coping strategy, their way of dealing with a situation that else might send one of them into the luring clutches of unadulterated terror and the other into a fit of recklessness, which could only ever lead to his death and Thorin Oakenshield was not yet ready to die. He had a Mountain to reclaim, a life to live. It was his duty to make things right for his people and he could not do that if he was dead. Things truly were as simple as that.

The storm of anger was still raging in his heart, but their strange bantering had given him pause long enough to get something of a grip on himself. He still felt the urge, the burning need to go out and fight Azog away from his family, but he could control it now. His fists clenched around the nearest branch he could find and he forced himself to control his breathing. If he worked himself into a state, he would not be able to make the decisions he needed to make rationally and that was what they needed most right now.

'_Look what we have here_.' Azog was looking up, presumably straight at Kíli, making it very hard on Thorin to remain anywhere near rational. '_Another Durin rat. What do you think your uncle will do when I get my hands on you, Kíli, son of Dís, daughter of Thráin_?'

Thorin felt like throwing up. The bile rose in his throat, but it was hard to determine whether it was caused by fear or by anger. He had worked hard to keep his sister-sons hidden, had worked so hard to keep them safe. He had not believed that anyone outside Durin's Folk had even known about them. Azog should not have been able to find this out. He might have heard some names, but he should not have been able to recognise them on sight as he had clearly just done. He recalled a certain conversation in Rivendell with Kate, when they had discussed the possibility of a traitor, someone who would have told Azog all about the quest and Thorin. It made him go very cold inside. _Mahal help us all_.

'He knows.' The words came out from between clenched teeth, betraying how much this affected him, but he did not care, could not care. He had made a promise to Dís before he left, a promise to look after her sons, to bring them home to her. He would not fail her. He had to do something, _anything_ at all. He would not let Kíli fall into enemy hands, not while he was alive and capable of swinging a sword around.

'Knows what?' Kate must have sensed his distress, because when she spoke the tone of voice was tense, on edge.

'He knows who Kíli is,' he clarified, eyes never leaving the scene.

'_He reeks of fear, dwarf_.' Azog's eyes were still fixed on the young archer, but Thorin did not doubt that the words were meant for him. '_Just like your father. Do you think this one will last as long as he did_?' There was so much threat in those words alone, even if they had been spoken in the Common Tongue. But somehow the use of the dark speech of the orcs made it sound that more threatening.

'He will not have him.' He had been meaning only to think the words, but when he checked they had come out of his mouth without him giving them permission to do so. But it helped him in a way, to say them out loud. It helped him in strengthening his resolve. Whatever it took, he would keep his promise to Dís, even if it cost him his life. It was a small price to pay if his family could be saved with it.

'Agreed,' Kate said. She gave the road below a thoughtful look. She wasn't frightened anymore, or at least not as much as she had been before. This was a look Thorin would expect on Dwalin's face, not on the advisor's. His friend would look exactly like that when he was planning strategy. Maybe it was not Thorin's or Dori's company she had spent too much time in, but Dwalin's. 'We need a diversion,' she muttered.

Thorin swivelled his head in her direction, momentarily forgetting he was on the verge of jumping out of this tree to do the most reckless thing in the history of Middle Earth. It was temporarily drowned out by the surprise he felt. 'You have a plan?'

She bit her lip. 'Half a plan,' she corrected. 'And stop looking so bloody surprised. I am in the possession of a brain, you know.'

He had never doubted that, but the previous experiences with dangerous situations had taught him that using said brain was not too high on her list of priorities on such occasions. But she had changed. He had realised this before, but he had never realised just how much she had changed.

'What plan?' he demanded. Any plan would be welcome, as long as it got them all to safety and it preferably didn't include suicide to achieve it. Thorin could plan battles and strategy, but the finer tactics were often left to Dwalin, who excelled in such things. Unfortunately it was a little hard to discuss such matters when the other person was holed up in a tree across the road.

Kate bit her lip again. 'It's dangerous,' she warned him.

'This situation is dangerous,' Thorin pointed out impatiently. 'Do you think it will get us out of here?' He would love nothing better than to demand a full explanation, but he had a feeling they were running out of time. Wargs and orcs were already circling Kíli's tree, growling, looking for opportunities to get up and snatch the dwarves in it.

'Hopefully,' Kate nodded, before turning to Bilbo. 'Do it.'

The hobbit didn't seem too enthusiastic about doing whatever it was that they must have agreed upon when Thorin was too caught up in the events taking place underneath the tree to pay attention to his companions. It did make him wonder how he could have been able to miss this and what Kate had asked of the hobbit to make him look so utterly miserable all of a sudden, even more miserable than he already looked that was. And how had she gotten him to agree to whatever it was that she was planning?

Eventually the burglar nodded. 'Very well.' He sounded rather resigned, but then he slipped his hand in the pocket of his waistcoat and disappeared, vanished into thin air, leaving Thorin staring at the place where the halfling had just been.

'The Ring,' Kate reminded him. 'The one that makes people invisible?'

He remembered now that in the book there had been something about a Ring and he also recalled that Kate was not pleased with it for some reason beyond his comprehension. But now was clearly not the time to discuss these matters. He would have to leave them until they were out of danger again and that would not be any time in the foreseeable future. 'What distraction did you have in mind?' he asked. It went against the grain to let a woman with no battle experience whatsoever take control of the situation, but there weren't too many other options available and time was running out. One of the wargs was already jumping up against the tree trunk, enormous jaws snapping at the dwarves that were only just out of its reach.

Kate's eyes went to the bow he had strapped to his back. Words weren't necessary to convey what it was that she had in mind. It was a gift from Beorn, but he had not believed he would need to make use of it. He wasn't as good a shot as Kíli was and he was better with sword and axe. And with nothing to hunt in the forest, he was starting to think of it as useless. Right now, it was a gift from Mahal himself.

The first arrow hit the warg in one of its hind legs, making its angry snarl change into a long howl of rage and pain. He cursed his own inability to shoot well. It wasn't a skill he had spent a lot of time practising and it was showing now. How had he ever been able to be as arrogant as to think he didn't need a bow and arrow when he could have a sword?

What this shot did manage was that he had given his location away as well, but he found he could not dwell on that knowledge now, not when other people's lives depended on it. He notched, drew and loosed a second arrow without hesitation. This one was better aimed, hitting the warg in its neck and it died with a horrible gurgling sound, effectively enraging the orcs on the ground.

All orcs but one. '_There are more of them_,' Azog said triumphantly. If anything, he seemed pleased with the way things were going. '_Kill them all, but bring the king and his wife to me alive. They are mine to end._'

For once Thorin was glad Kate did not understand the exact words. It would only serve to send her into a full-blown panic attack and that was something they could do without now. He replied with another arrow, this time aimed at the Defiler himself. It missed the orc, but not his mount. The warg collapsed, launching Azog from its back as it died. A furious roar erupted from the Defiler's throat, but the threat was not as impressive as before now that he lay sprawled on the Old Forest Road.

It hit him then that if he could shoot Azog now, he would be able to put an end to his defiling habits once and for all. He could finish what he had begun at Azanulbizar. He had thought the exact same thing when he had been holed up in that pine tree east of the Misty Mountains and he had found himself wishing for a bow then. Now he had one.

But it would seem that he had a need to put it to use to fend off the angry mob of orcs that now came to his tree. The tree shook with the force of the warg's jumps against the tree trunk, making it difficult to aim and shoot. But he shot nonetheless. He had to if he wanted to live, if he wanted to rescue his people. And Kate was no help at all in this. The advisor clung to the tree for dear life, unable to do anything useful. Dwalin's training had mostly consisted of teaching her how to use her sword and that had been difficult enough. Other weapons had been left for a later date. The bow had not been one of those weapons and so it was up the dwarf to keep them both safe.

He wished for a sword in his hand instead of sitting here and shooting like a first class coward who fought from a distance. He was used to being in the thick of a fight and as much use as his current weapon was, it was not how he preferred to do his fighting. But he forced himself not to think of what he wanted, because it would not do him any good at all. He just had to keep going long enough for Mr Baggins to… To do what actually? He had to admit that he did not have a clue.

Thorin had hardly finished that thought when the screaming reached his ears. He stopped shooting and looked at the source of the noise. He was met by the sight of a warg and orc on fire. He was just about to wonder how that had happened when he realised that the tree said orc and warg were under was ablaze as well.

**Kate**

The panic was tugging at the edges of Kate's mind, threatening to overwhelm her since the moment Thorin had commanded them all to get up into the trees as fast as they could. She told herself that this was something they should have been expecting. They had seen the paw prints, had a minor skirmish with two orcs on a hunt for food, one of which had escaped. It was inevitable that they would have a run-in with the main force Thorin had mentioned at some point in time. Those things happened, no matter how much she disliked it.

And dislike it she did, especially since Thorin had started to shoot, thus gaining their tree the orcs' undivided attention, something she dreaded more than she was ready to admit. The tree was shaking and she had to grab a branch, practically embracing it with all her might to keep herself from falling. Thorin had a better position, if not much better. But he at least did not need to hold on and he was able to remain shooting. Of course it could also be that he had a better balance than she had. She would not rule that out.

The other dwarves had started shooting as well, making good use of Beorn's gift. Kate had been doubtful about how much use they would be, but right now she was ready to admit that they were a gift from heaven. They needed them and they needed them badly. Kíli had resumed his shooting and Kate was reminded of why the bow was his weapon of choice. He was deadly with it. Each arrow took out an orc or a warg. Of the last there were only three left standing, the one that was apparently trying to push down their tree included. She would readily admit that all the others that were shooting were not as good at it as he was, and that was indeed true for Thorin as well. But for now at least they were still more or less safe and the orcs were the only ones to have suffered losses. But they were still outnumbered and their arrows were running out. This situation could not last forever or until all the orcs were gone, which would be a preferable outcome.

And what on earth was taking Bilbo so long? He should have accomplished it by now, but the hobbit was nowhere to be seen. Of course he would not be seen what with that Ring around his finger, but the not seeing, the not knowing was a torment. She had no way of knowing how long this ordeal was still going to last and that made her almost give up on hope.

Not that this plan wasn't suicidal or highly dangerous. Good grief, it could kill them as well as the orcs, but there wasn't exactly a list of other options and they needed to do something. This ridiculous plan had been the only one her panicked mind had been able to come up with.

'Bilbo, if we could create a distraction, do you think you could slip on the Ring and get out of the tree?' she had asked when Thorin was too preoccupied with keeping an eye on his nephew in the tree across the road to hear what they were saying.

Bilbo had merely stared at her. 'How do you…?' he had begun to ask, making Kate realise a second too late that he had not actually told them about the Ring. It was something that was only in the book.

'Book,' she interrupted. 'As you might have known, but that doesn't matter now. Can you do it?'

She had a bucketful of doubts about this plan, but now was not the time to chicken out. They needed something to get them out of this situation and yes, her idea was highly dangerous, but the way things were looking now the chances of getting out of this place alive were rather slim either way. They might as well go out on their own terms rather than on the terms of creatures such as Azog. And at least her way would be quicker than the Defiler's. She had no idea what that monster was saying, but quick death was certainly not a part of it. Kate even doubted it was part of his vocabulary.

'They'll smell me,' the hobbit had said, pointing at the wargs.

'Not if we keep them busy, they won't,' Kate objected. This was a lot of bluff, since she could not guarantee Bilbo's safety at all, but no one's safety could be guaranteed now and they had to do something or else they would all die.

_A few months with the dwarves and you're already thinking like an army commander_, her brain commented wryly. It was right of course, but Kate wasn't sure how well she liked this development. It felt as if the person she had been was slipping away more every day, leaving someone who might eventually have a hard time living in the world she had originally come from. How could she ever fit in again in a society that got upset if a celebrity twisted his or her ankle while in here people only got upset about attacks and lives lost, about reclaiming homes and fighting dragons? Her own world seemed so shallow, so meaningless in comparison.

_Well, let's worry about that later, shall we?_ common sense cut in. _If you don't do anything now, chances are you will not live to see the day of your return. Focus, girl!_

It was right of course and so she returned her attention to the matter at hand. 'We'll keep them busy, Bilbo, I promise,' she said, trying to sound as trustworthy as she could. 'And I can't do this myself. You're the one with the magic Ring. And we have to do something or else we're all going to die.' Talking sense into the hobbit was no fun and she felt extremely guilty about asking him to risk his life, while she took no risks at all. But she knew that it had to be done, no matter how much she disliked the necessity of it. And they needed to act before things got terribly out of hand, even more than they already were, that was.

Bilbo thought for a moment, but then straightened his back, raised his head and took a deep breath. 'I can do it,' he said, trying and failing to sound brave. But Kate appreciated the effort and she didn't doubt that the halfling was a lot braver than anyone gave him credit for and that included himself. The advisor remembered all too well that he had jumped into the fray when Thorin's life had been in danger. He could do this, especially with the Ring around his finger. 'What do you want me to do?' He still sounded frightened, but at least he didn't question her anymore and that had to be some sort of progress.

'Set the forest on fire,' she said.

Two eyes stared at her. 'Have you lost your mind?' It was a sign of how shocked the well-mannered hobbit was if he was using phrases like that. Bilbo Baggins was nothing if not polite, but right now he was hissing at her in a low voice, very unlike him. 'We're in a forest. Everything will burn!'

'That's the bloody point,' she hissed back. 'And if we're lucky it will burn quite a few orcs as well.'

'What about us?' the burglar demanded.

'We escaped last time,' Kate pointed out. The fact that in this forest the fire might spread faster was something she conveniently banished to the back of her mind. The trees here were much closer to one another. Even a small fire might soon turn into an inferno here. The only thing that might help was that the ground in this place was relatively wet. It must have rained not that long ago. 'And if we do nothing, we die either way. So unless you have a better idea?' That last sentence might be more snappy than she had intended it to be, but she was losing patience. They were wasting time and Bilbo was being obstructive.

At least he shook his head. 'I don't,' he admitted.

'Then wait for my command,' she had said.

And he had done as he had been told. He had not looked particularly happy when she told him it was time, but he hadn't protested either. And fortunately Thorin had not asked any questions. She could see in his eyes that he wanted to, that there were plenty questions he would have fired at her right away in any other circumstance, but not today. He might have bitten her head off if he knew what she was planning, but at least she had warned him that it was dangerous, to which he had responded with a wry 'This situation is dangerous.' And he was right. There was every chance they would not come out of this alive and it frightened her. But they had to do something and she did not regret her actions.

But it started to look as if her scheme was unsuccessful anyway. He had not been detected. Had that been the case, they would have known. Azog would then probably use the halfling to get them to surrender. And Thorin, noble fool that he was, would do it without as much as a second thought, she had no doubt. So maybe Bilbo had taken his chance and slipped away as fast as his hairy feet could carry him, but Kate rather doubted that possibility. He had become a braver hobbit in the past few months. He would not run. But what on earth was taking him so bloody long?

She had hardly finished that thought when the cries began. Her gaze focused on the source of the noise and she saw a burning tree. Thank goodness, Bilbo had managed it. And he had done more than she had even expected him to do, because the tree wasn't the only thing that was burning. An orc and a warg that had been nearby had been literally lighted up as well. She had no idea how the burglar had done that, but in that moment she felt triumphant.

The orcs were all distracted and, in some cases, even panicked. They were staring at the tree, seeing it burn, but they were unable to find a culprit for it. There was no one near, no one who could have started the fire. It must seem like magic to them.

Thorin used their temporary distraction to round on Kate. 'That was your plan?' he demanded, sounding both shocked and angry. 'To set the forest alight?'

This was the Thorin Kate remembered from when they had first set out on this journey: angry, ill-tempered and under the impression that she lived to make his life a living hell. And she could not help but react to it. 'Did you have a better idea then?' she demanded, knowing that he had not. There were no good ideas in this case. And Kate had only been able to come up with this plan because Gandalf had been throwing burning pinecones when they had first encountered the orcs. It hadn't been a brilliant idea then and it certainly was even less of a brilliant idea now, but it was the only plan she had to offer and they really needed to do something, even if it was as suicidal as this.

'You will burn us all alive.' Thorin's voice was nothing more than a low growl. Kate could see the flames reflected in his eyes.

'We didn't burn to death last time we played with fire!' The words came out more forcefully than she had meant them, but only because she was so very afraid, not that she would be heard to say that within anyone's earshot. Heaven knew how scared she was and if she gave that fear as much as half a chance it would effectively change her into a snivelling wreck and that was something she could not allow to happen. If by some miracle they would all make it out alive, then she might allow herself to cry, not now and certainly not in the presence of the one person who did not seem to tolerate weakness.

The tree next to the first one was now ablaze as well. With the trees standing so close to one another the fire spread quickly and it burned hot and fast. Kate could smell the smoke and hear the orcs' shrieks. One high-pitched scream made her turn her head around again, only to see one of the other two remaining wargs suddenly catch fire. She blinked and blinked again, unable to grasp what happened right away. It was only when she recalled that Bilbo had taken matches and a tinderbox with him that the penny dropped. The hobbit was deliberately setting their enemies on fire. He could easily sneak up on them on his quiet hobbit feet and light them up without being seen by anyone. It was still highly dangerous though and Kate feared for the hobbit. If he got caught, Azog would not be kind to him.

_He will not be kind to any of us. Grow up, girl_. It was a harsh notion and one that was entirely unwelcome to her, but it was a realistic one. And she was not home anymore. This was the way this world worked and it was far more violent than the world she had grown up in. And the worst thing was that she was slowly becoming used to it, that she was slowly accepting the necessity of sending people off into danger. She was starting to think like some kind of army commander. Maybe she had spent entirely too much time in Dwalin's company. There did not seem to be much of another explanation for the change in her thinking habits. It didn't mean she suddenly liked the change though. It made her feel like she was losing who she had been even more. _And heaven prevent me from becoming like Dwalin_.

'What's he doing?' Thorin snarled. He sounded angry, but Kate wasn't fooled. He was worried. It was his way to become snappy whenever he worried about the quest or the company, or both. Lately it seemed that he was worrying all the time, although the snapping wasn't directed at her as much as it had once been. That it was now, that hurt and she could not quite figure out why.

Something told her Thorin wasn't exactly asking what it was that Bilbo was doing, but more why he was doing it. 'I've got no bloody idea,' she had to admit.

When she had first presented the idea to the hobbit he had almost been offended that she had even mentioned it, but now he was doing a hell of a lot more than she had asked of him to begin with. Hobbits truly were surprising creatures. _You can learn all there is to learn about them in a month and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you._ That was something Gandalf had once said in one of the Lord of the Rings movies and it would seem that he had the right of it. She had never believed Bilbo capable of setting fire to any living being, but here he was, doing whatever necessary to make the plan succeed.

'This wasn't part of the plan,' she added when Thorin threw her an incredulous look. 'He was only meant to light up the trees. Truly.' She bit her lip again. 'Listen, I know you don't like what I have done and I am sorry that I didn't ask your permission first, but we needed to do something and I couldn't think of anything else.' She didn't know why, but suddenly she found herself almost pleading with him, begging for his understanding, his approval even. Now that gave her pause. Since when did she beg Thorin's approval for anything? She had never cared much for his opinion before, well, not before they had become friends anyway.

The dwarf king was silent for a while, but then he reacted with a curt nod that made Kate for some reason want to exhale in relief, glad that she had not lost his friendship by doing what she had done. _Oh dear, you're done for_.

'It is done,' was the curt spoken reply. This probably meant that her hare-brained scheme still didn't have his seal of approval, but he wasn't going to kill her for it either. _No, the fire might do that without his help well enough_, a sarcastic little voice commented. 'It cannot be undone.'

Those were not the words she longed to hear, but they would have to make do. And Thorin was not the kind of person who told someone he approved of something they had done only to soothe their nerves. And so she nodded, knowing that she could not expect more, even if for some stupid reason she wanted more. 'So, what do we do now?'

She was favoured with another incredulous look. 'Didn't you have a plan?' he demanded.

'Only half a plan,' she reminded him. It was only now that it could never be undone that she realised just how many flaws this plan had. 'I hadn't thought that far ahead,' she confessed miserably. And what a fool she had been for not doing so. She might have caused all their deaths with her own personal brand of stupidity. 'I'm sorry.' It was the right thing to be saying, especially now that she had put everyone's lives at risk. 'I really am. I don't know what I was even thinking. It seemed like such a good idea and now… I messed up. I'm so sorry.'

It was like her own worst nightmare coming true. Ever since she had taken on the responsibility of really advising the company she had been scared that for some reason she would lead them astray. The weight of that responsibility had only started to press down heavier on her when Thorin and she had decided to break free from the book. Taking the Men-i-Naugrim had felt like such a great plan then. It would turn out now that Gandalf had been right in wanting to send them by the northern route. _He's going to love hearing that_, Kate thought. _If we ever get out of this blasted forest, away from these orcs and the fire_.

And they were starting to notice the effect of said fire now. It had not been very warm in Mirkwood with the trees blocking all the sunlight, but the fire was heating things up rather quickly. It wouldn't be long or they would either be forced to leave their hideout or burn to death and Kate would choose the first option anytime.

'You did what you thought to be right.' The combination of Thorin's voice and his hand on her arm snapped her out of her thoughts. For Thorin this counted as a reassurance, Kate supposed. And she was glad of it. It calmed her, made her able to clear her head and try to think straight, because good grief, were they in need of clear heads.

'So, what do we do now?' she asked, hoping and praying that he at least had some kind of idea now that her own ideas were non-existent.

Thorin glanced down at the chaos on the road and Kate followed his gaze. And it turned out that chaos was something of an understatement. The orc army, the part that wasn't either dead or burning, was in complete disarray, trying to get at the dwarves or about to make a run for it. She thought it would be a fair guess to say that none of them had run for it already because of Azog's furious roar. He must suspect the use of magic, as must his men, and that was cause enough for panic because, as it seemed, orcs weren't big fans of magic. Like the goblins of Goblin-town they feared it and if they were very clever, they might be able to use that fear to their advantage.

For the moment it would seem that the orcs were in more danger than the company was, but that could not last very long anymore, Kate feared. The fire was spreading quickly and soon they would have to join the hell on the road. They might as well do it of their own volition.

Thorin seemed to be of the same mind. 'We fight,' he said.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _What on earth was I thinking when I thought that this was actually a good idea? Have I finally gone insane?_

* * *

**I wanted to say a quick thank you to the people who left a review as guest. I can't thank you by PM, but I wanted to let you know that your comments are really appreciated. Thank you!**

**Next time… Well, let's phrase it like this: after next chapter you're probably going to hate me. In the meantime, please review? I'd like to hear your thoughts.**


	40. Chapter 40 Surviving

**Chapter 40**

**Surviving**

_My plan was insane, I'll readily admit that. Still, looking back on it now, I think it had been the right decision to make. Because in the end, as you lot well know, we did get out of that blasted Mirkwood, if not exactly how we planned it. But that is a story for later. You must forgive me. My mind tends to stray the longer I dwell on my memories. Right now, we're still in that forest, surrounded by both flames and orcs._

_And I had quite a difficult time figuring out which one was worse. I tend to think the fire was, because there was no way we could reasonably fight that with no ocean's worth of water at our disposal. And to think that the fire was the thing we had set in motion ourselves, well, that is irony if ever I heard any. And I'll admit that I had been reckless to start it, but I guess you know where in Mahal's name you got that reckless streak that I tend to curse from time to time. Your father had a streak of it as well, but yes, I think most of it comes from my side of the family._

_I didn't feel particularly reckless and brave in that moment though. Getting out of the tree to face orcs and the one remaining warg sounded like a living nightmare to me. But burning wasn't an acceptable alternative, so there wasn't really much choice and recently I had come to the conclusion that I was more of a die-with-sword-in-hand-girl than a hide-and-get-killed-either-way-person. Having a sword at least made me feel as if I stood a chance, even when I was still absolutely hopeless at all things fighting. It was at least something and I think that may have been the only reason that I didn't flip when Thorin told me we would fight for our lives. Quite the contrary actually…_

**Kate**

'Of course.' The words came rolling from her lips before she had actually thought about them. And when she did think about them, she had to come to the unpleasant conclusion that she had gone insane. Because this would be the first time she had agreed that fighting was a good idea, without protesting the notion, not even once. Kate blamed it on the crisis. It was clearly doing strange things to her.

Thorin however did not seem to notice. He was too preoccupied with the plan he had apparently thought up, not that charging down whilst yelling battle cries counted as a real plan. It was more of a fool's errand than a plan, but it also was the only thing they could possibly do, no matter how much Kate hated the notion.

_Get a grip, girl!_ she told herself sternly. _You're part of the company now and you are the one who started this in the first place. You might as well shoulder the consequences for your actions. _

Now that was an unwelcome notion, but it was a truthful one all the same. The time that she could fool herself into thinking that she was not part of this company was long behind her. She was a part of the company, part of the quest and now it would seem she needed to fight for it, in spite of the fact that her fighting skills were still the worst Dwalin had ever seen. _Well, Ori isn't all that good either and he's holding his ground._

And so he was. Her companions were already leaving their hiding places in favour of cutting down every orc they could get their hands on. Dwalin was of course right in the very bloody, in this case literally so, middle of it, charging the orcs with a wordless battle cry on his lips. Kate was quite sure that if she was on the receiving end of said battle cry she would have done a runner ages ago.

'Stay behind me,' Thorin ordered, truly back in commander mode now. The shock her lack of a plan had induced had worn off. If he still was shocked, he didn't show it and for this Kate was grateful. She found she needed to believe that Thorin knew what he was doing, because that meant that someone at least did. She certainly didn't think she was in any state to help out and as annoying as the notion of being protected once again was, in this case it was a reassurance, because heaven knew she did not want to get caught up in another fight.

'Understood,' she replied, trying and failing to keep the fear out of her voice. This was not the time to start whining or get a panic attack. _Later_, she told herself. _Later you can freak out over how dangerous it all was. Just not now. Get going_. It may have been common sense, but Kate preferred to think of it as self-preservation. Because if she started to think about the very realistic possibility of dying, of never going home again, then she might just go insane and that would do her chances of survival no good. And she wanted to live, heaven knew she wanted to live.

There was the barest hint of sympathy in Thorin's eyes. 'We will come out of this,' he vowed.

Kate conjured up a weak smile. 'Would you swear to that?' she joked feebly.

Thorin however did not seem to take it as a joke. He was dead serious when he nodded, still holding her gaze with his own eyes. 'I would.'

Maybe she should not have been surprised, because this was exactly the kind of person, the kind of leader that Thorin Oakenshield was: risking everything, not at the very least his own life, to make sure that everyone else got out alive. The fool was far too self-sacrificing for his own good and he was definitely in a self-sacrificing mood now. The company being in danger seemed to have brought that on, as it always did. As admirable a quality as this was, it also pointed out that Thorin had a remarkable lack of self-preservation. And it wasn't because he wanted to look like some sodding kind of action hero. He really cared about his people. And she did not like what this said about her, because she was not in the very least like him in that regard.

'Well, no time for that,' Kate reminded him. 'We've got a battle to win.'

And that they had, no matter how much it frightened her. Kate's fingers grabbed the hilt of Excalibur. She had named it after King Arthur's famous blade, but heaven knew she could do with a little bit of his courage as well. Give her verbal confrontations any day, because this was the kind of confrontation she had no idea how to handle. But she had stood her ground so far and she would try her hardest to do so again. She had to.

Thorin was the first one out of the tree. He didn't climb down – which would mean he had to turn his back on his enemies and that was something one should never do, according to Dwalin and common sense – but he let himself fall out of the tree, landing on his feet, already swinging Orcrist around with deadly efficiency.

Kate waited until he was a good distance away from their tree before she followed his example. She did not want to risk getting killed by friendly fire and Thorin was quite literally hacking his way through a lot of orcs that were attacking him from all sides. Azog himself was kept busy by Dwalin at the moment, so at least that foul being would not get the chance to get anywhere near the dwarf king for a while, which was a relief.

She jumped when there was no one left under the tree. The orcs had apparently never seen her and had abandoned the dark oak in which they had been hiding after Thorin had jumped out of it. That was a stroke of luck and it would seem that she was in dire need of luck, because when she landed, she twisted her ankle. It had seemed so easy when Thorin had done it, but it would seem that it wasn't. She muffled her cry of pain, and told herself not to be a baby, hopping over to the king who had told her to remain behind him.

_Cripple as well as bad at sword fighting_, her brain commented as she did a fairly good imitation of a limp rabbit. _This just gets better and better_.

She forced herself to ignore the voice. It would not help her to listen to it. And she had more pressing concerns at the moment. It was getting hot in here and breathing was becoming increasingly difficult with all the smoke that developed in here now. That the trees stood so close to one another was becoming a problem, because the smoke had nowhere to go. It remained where it was, obscuring sight and making breathing difficult, more and more by the second.

_This was a mistake_. The thought wriggled its way into her brain and took up residence there, not planning on leaving anytime soon. And there was no arguing with it, because this was hell come alive on earth. It was hot, dry and fiery, everything she had ever envisioned hell to be like. And to top it off nicely, it was infested with little devils.

She had not really seen the orc coming. It was a blur, but her sword blocked the blow almost of its own volition, just like it had done in Goblin-town. Thinking didn't come into it. Maybe she shouldn't think about it too much, she thought in a moment of clarity. Maybe the trick of it was to let one's body do the work, work on instinct instead of on conscious thought.

The strategy seemed to work and Kate had not even made a conscious decision to do it. And she did not have the time for that either. If she stood here and started to think it through she would have been killed within five seconds. Self-preservation took over as she swung her sword around, blocking blow after blow. She didn't attempt to land a few herself. She was hardly able to keep up already and she feared that if she let her defence down for only half a second in favour of trying to find a flaw in his defences then he would use that opportunity to get to her first and that was a risk she did not dare take.

It was not like how it had been in Goblin-town. The goblins she had fought had been strong, but chaotic, disorganised and therefore easier to kill. That was something that could not be said for this small army. They were disciplined, extremely so even. They had probably been trained for years and they were good at what they were doing. She did not stand a chance, Kate knew that. Sooner rather than later this orc would be the end of her. He probably could have finished her already were he so inclined. He was toying with her, making her believe that she actually stood a chance, only to take delight in her despair as he would prove to her that she had never been able to beat him at all.

This should have scared her out of her wits, but under the given circumstances it only served to make her blood boil – and no matter how likely, the temperature actually had nothing to do with it. In a way this was a challenge, Kate supposed. And she had never been able to back down once it was put to her. It was in her very nature and so she doubled her efforts to try and prove him wrong. And yes, maybe she would die eventually and despair before she did so, but at least it was a small consolation that she would not despair for long.

The rest of the world lost its meaning. Her world had shrunken to the small patch on which she stood and the orc she was fighting. The sweat was trickling down her back and brow, her breathing was laboured because of the effort and the smoke she was inhaling and all her muscles were protesting against the abuse she forced on them, but she was not giving up. Her lungs started burning and she coughed, trying to keep up the fight as she had done so far. But it wasn't easy, not at all. Her body was of the opinion that the smoke that invaded her lungs was more important than the on-going fight. It tried to cough the smoke away whilst at the same time it struggled for fresh air. But fresh air was in short supply around here. _God, help me. I'm suffocating!_

Panic was tugging at the edges of her mind even as she still brought up her sword to parry yet another blow, because what other choice was there? _Run, run, run!_ her mind screamed at her, a never-ending mantra.

_Run where?_ Kate shot back. The voice that told her to run was the panic speaking and she could not obey that voice. Besides, there wasn't anywhere left to run. She was surrounded by fire and it was spreading fast. Maybe it would burn the entire forest, she wondered for half a second. With nothing to stop it, it would spread until it had consumed everything in its path. And good riddance it would be too. _The elves will _not_ be pleased_.

She focused on bringing up her sword again to deflect the next hit, aimed at her head this time. But she was slowing down and although she did manage to turn the blow away from her head, it hit her shoulder. Kate cried out as the blade slashed through skin and muscle. The pain burned, making it almost impossible to ignore it. She wasn't afraid of blood, not in the slightest, but this wound made her feel light-headed. Or was that just the lack of oxygen that was to blame for that? Kate could no longer tell and, what was worse, she could no longer care.

She had lost. She knew it and if the triumphant expression on the orc's face was any indication, he knew it too. The smoke had affected him as well, but clearly not as much as Kate. Or maybe he did not care that even though he was victorious now, he might still die a terrible death by fire. Maybe orcs did not care for death. They did seem the types.

He grinned at her, the realisation that he had his prey exactly where he wanted her lighting up his face. The rest of Kate's vision was blurred, but that stood out clearly, bright as daylight. She could only feel the pain and somehow all her fighting spirit had left her the moment she had received that wound. _Know when you are beaten_, her mother had once told her and now she did know. She was hardly getting enough air to breathe, she was hurt and the chances of ever getting home were getting slimmer and slimmer with every passing second. It was just no good fighting anymore and hopefully this orc would kill her quickly and then it would all be over. This wasn't like her, but she was just so tired of it all. And with her fighting doing her no good anyway, what was the use in fighting then?

A wordless battle cry snapped her out of it. Kate tried to focus, but it was hard to see anything when her vision was already blacking out around the edges.

'You will not have her!' That tone and voice she would have recognised anywhere, no matter what happened, no matter how dire the situation. And the next moment the place where the orc's head had been was empty. Her thoughts were so slow by now that for a moment she stupidly wondered where the head had gone and it was only when Thorin ran into her line of sight that she realised that he must have killed her attacker and in that way had saved her life.

'Kate!' The tone was filled with panic. All it took was the cry of her name to convey that message. And it really didn't suit him, not at all.

The pain was demanding most of her attention and she almost doubled over with the coughing, but she did manage to send a wry grin his way. 'Do I… really look… that bad?' Talking was even more of an effort than breathing now. Why was Thorin not affected by this wretched smoke? Was he somehow immune to it? It wouldn't surprise her much. Mahal had made his children to endure practically everything and clearly this smoke was no exception.

Thorin ignored the very bad attempt at joking, slipping an arm around her waist to keep her from falling down, using the other hand to hold on to his sword. The support came just in time, because standing up was getting harder and harder with each passing second. Not that standing up was so important right now. The matter of not getting enough air was far more pressing, since she seemed unable to get any right now.

'Keep breathing,' Thorin told her.

'How?' Even uttering that one word cost a lot of effort now.

For a moment it almost seemed if there was worry written all over the dwarf king's face, but it was only for a moment and then it was gone, so Kate told herself she must have been imagining things. Thorin didn't do worrying. It didn't fit in with his character. 'Keep breathing,' he repeated in his best commander voice, almost as if he would see her punished if she had the guts to disobey him.

He was leading her somewhere, even if dragging was probably a more appropriate word for it. Kate didn't do much of the walking. She didn't get enough air, her left shoulder still felt like it was on fire and she could have sworn her surroundings had started to move. And that could not be a good sign at all.

The advisor didn't know where the orcs had gone. She didn't see any, so maybe for the moment they were not important. And it didn't really matter either. Orcs, as it turned out, weren't the most lethal things around today. It would seem that the fire was going to be the end of all of them. What bitter irony that she should find her end in the flames of her own making.

Kate stumbled and fell and she couldn't find the will to get up again. She was fighting for air now, even as her companion did not seem to be suffering too much. Oh, she did want to get out of here, more than anything, but she knew she could not find a way out of this inferno, so why try at all? Why not give up? For the first time since she had gotten here she found that she could not care less about what happened to her. Al alarming development that may be, but she was too preoccupied trying to get some air into her lungs that she could not bring herself to care about that either.

'Get up!' Thorin's voice was as commanding as she had ever heard it, but it didn't have any effect on her this time. She wondered if it ever had really. She had been defying him since the day they had met.

'Can't,' she managed to say between coughs. There was no point in trying anymore, not when there was nowhere left to run. They were trapped and in trying to flee they would only try to fool themselves. It was just no use and she was hurting, tired and suffocating. She just couldn't muster the energy to try and run anymore. 'Leave me.'

Thorin was still able to run, of that she was certain. The smoke affected him far less than it did her. Maybe he did stand a chance. And he still had a quest to fulfil. But he wouldn't be able to do so if he tried to take her with him. And that would mean he had to leave her behind. Surely he could see that?

It turned out that he didn't. With all the smoke in this place it was hard to make out his expression, but for a moment Kate could see clearly and the dwarf looked absolutely furious. 'Don't you dare,' he warned her. 'Don't you dare give up now, Kate.' He wasn't giving her much of a choice. His arm still was wrapped around her waist and he dragged her away with him. Kate could only try and put one foot in front of the other, but she wasn't quite there anymore. Her head was spinning, she wasn't getting enough air and her shoulder ached. Could Thorin not accept that there was nowhere left to run? She had signed their death sentences the moment she had ordered Bilbo out of that tree to light up the fire.

That was the only thing that still registered in her mind and it felt like a blow to the chest with a sledgehammer. This was her fault, her fault with her bloody stupid ideas. She had caused all their deaths. She stumbled and all but fell again. It was only Thorin's death grip on her waist that kept her from crashing to the ground like a marionette of which the strings had been cut.

'Fight it!' Thorin barked at her. In a way this reminded her of another situation not all that long ago, in which she had been the one telling the dwarf not to give up. It would seem that their roles had now been reversed. 'In Durin's name, woman, fight it!' She had never seen the dwarf lose control over himself like that. He even sounded panicked, but that could not be, so she dismissed the fanciful thought. Thorin didn't panic. It wasn't like him. It must be the smoke and the injury that caused her to think such strange things.

She coughed, trying to dispel some of the smoke from her lungs, but she only succeeded in inhaling another dose of it. 'Trying,' she managed to choke out. 'Not as… strong… as you.' The sentence ended in another coughing fit. Good heavens, it hurt. Everything hurt. She was too hot, her muscles protested the very notion of walking, her shoulder throbbed and breathing made her lungs burn and her eyes tear. But she didn't have the choice to give up, not with Thorin dragging her to only God knew where.

Time lost its meaning. Hours could have passed, but it could also have been mere minutes or even seconds. All she knew was that she was stumbling – because this could not be called walking anymore – along with the dwarf and that she had actually no clue as to where they were going. The only thing she knew was that it all ended the moment something incredibly hot and burning landed on her left arm. The pain was too intense, too much considering what she was already trying and failing to deal with. Before she could even begin to fight it, her vision blacked out entirely.

**Thorin**

Thorin thought his heart just stopped when the advisor's body suddenly went limp in his arms. He had been looking around him for a way to pass through the inferno that now surrounded them. The rest of the company he had long since lost sight of. He could only hope and pray that they would somehow make it out of this living nightmare, but for now his thoughts were mostly focused on getting himself and Kate out of here. The dwarf king recalled some sort of hiding place they had passed shortly before they had found themselves ambushed. It was a sort of hole next to the road. It was far too open for his liking, but it had a shelter for over their heads and if they were lucky the flames would not be able to reach them there, if only they could get to it before they were both burned to cinders.

Thorin whispered a silent thanks to Mahal that he had spotted it. It had stood out to him because the shelter could easily conceal an orc or three from sight and that was why he had checked it out; to make sure that no one would attack them from there. In his mind it was only a five to ten minutes' walk, but the time dragged on and they did not appear to come any closer to the place he remembered. Kate was slowing him down too. Thorin's lungs protested the invasion of so much smoke, but he could handle it. Not for one moment had it occurred to him that not every member of his company would be capable of handling it just as well until he had seen his advisor's face, eyes screaming panic at him as she fought for every breath. And she was already hurt. Things weren't looking well. It didn't help at all that he had seen Frerin look up at him with the same panic written on his face only seconds before he died at Azanulbizar.

And it felt like failure all over again. He had failed his brother that day, but so Mahal help him, he would not fail again, not while there was still a breath in his body. Thorin had sworn an oath and he was determined to keep it if he could. _I, Thorin, son of Thráin, so of Thrór, make this vow before Mahal: to protect and shield Catherine Sarah Andrews_. That was what he had sworn and he would make good on it.

Some part of his brain told him he should be more than willing to leave the woman behind. That hare-brained scheme of hers would be the death of them all, but Thorin could not for the life of him bring himself to condemn her actions, not while she had acted with the best intentions. And would they have had any better chances if they had not started the fire? Thorin doubted it. They had been doomed from the moment they had encountered the hunting orcs. The only thing they had still been able to determine was the manner of their death and this way they would at least take some of the orcs with them in their fall.

Yet they were still fighting, still alive. He didn't know for how much longer, but Mahal willing they would make it out of this. But it was difficult. Kate was injured. Just before he had been able to interfere, the orc's blade had slashed her shoulder and she had cried out in pain, the sound alone making Thorin see a red haze. He had struck the foul creature down without even thinking about it, his only thought removing the danger from the advisor. Where the orcs had gone after that, only Mahal knew. They at least weren't anywhere near and that would have to do for now.

Kate had stumbled and fallen, her eyes half shut, clearly about to faint. He had hauled her to her feet, snapping that she was not allowed to pass out. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but he had been hoping for a more or less sarcastic put-down. Instead he had heard her ask him to leave her. And it scared him. Kate was a fighter. She did not give up. It simply wasn't in her nature.

And it wasn't in his either and so he had dragged her with him. 'Don't you dare,' he had snarled at her. 'Don't you dare give up now, Kate.'

He would rather die than admit it out loud, but at that moment he would have given all the gold in Erebor to hear her protest that he had hired her to advise him, not obey him. The lack of protest from her lips was in a way more frightening than anything else. It was a dead giveaway that she was giving up, that she had resigned herself to dying.

And that was something he could not accept. He did not know where his men were, if they were even still alive, but he would save this woman he had sworn to protect. And, this of course was another thing he would never admit when called on, Kate had become more than just his protégée. She was a friend, and a friend in need. When he had been wounded, she had done for him what he was doing for her now, even though he had ordered her to leave him behind. It would seem that the time had come to repay the favour.

'Fight it!' he commanded, dragging her with him to the place he had seen before, hoping by Mahal that he had not already passed the place. 'In Durin's name, woman, fight it!'

He was supporting most of Kate's weight now. She seemed barely conscious anymore, sagging against him. He could manage it, of that he had no doubt, but the advisor was on the verge of collapse and she was still bleeding as well. They had to stop, find a place to rest so that he could have a good look at that wound of hers.

'Trying,' came the reply eventually.

Kate's breathing was shallow and laboured, and every now and then she coughed. The coughs were closer together now. The woman was fighting for every bit of air she could get and it did not seem to work much, something that worried the dwarf king even further. _Please, do not let her suffocate. Dori will take my head off._

'Not as… strong… as you,' Kate added, the words coming out in chokes instead of as a normal sentence.

And he was aware of that, only too painfully. His lungs started burning as well. Breathing was difficult for him too, but he could manage it, even if he knew that he could not keep it up indefinitely, which was why it was so important that he got them to relative safety – because entirely safe it would never be here – before he would be overcome as well.

At first he had not realised that not everyone was as little affected by the smoke as he was. He could not say how the hobbit fared – he had not seen him since he had slipped that magical Ring of his on – but the effect on the advisor was obvious. And he had not stopped to think about it before he saw how affected she was. He knew that dwarves had been made to withstand a lot, but he had not realised that this was apparently one of those things dwarves were better equipped to deal with.

'We're nearly there,' he told Kate as he finally spotted the boulder that marked the entrance towards the shelter, trying and failing to ban the relief out of his voice. They would make it. He strengthened his left arm's hold on her waist and gripped his sword tighter with the other.

Of course that was the moment that it all went pear-shaped, as Kate would phrase it. The advisor made a muffled sound that could have been a cry and then her body went limp in his arms.

It took him hardly a second to react and to assess the situation. A large burning branch had crashed to the ground, grazing her left arm in the process, the arm that had already been wounded by the orc's blade. Somehow the combination of the already existing wound, her troubles with breathing and the force of the branch must have made her lose her grip on her consciousness entirely. She had already been close to passing out.

Everyone who knew Thorin would admit right away that he was not the type to fuss or to panic. It wasn't like him. But now he found himself doing both those things at the same time. He blamed the circumstances for losing his composure in such a way. He was just lucky there was no one here to witness it.

Kate's cloak had caught fire, but it was easily extinguished, even if he had to be a little rough to do it. Fortunately Kate was unconscious now, so at least she would not feel what he had to do to her. It was a small mercy, a very small one. And it was another that they were almost in the shelter. He hadn't thought of what to do then. To be quite honest, he hadn't been able to think further than getting there. They would have to wait it out, he supposed, as loath as he was to sit back. If only Óin was here so he could have a look at her.

He stopped himself right there and then, while he carried the advisor and her bag – Thorin was by now starting to wonder if he could get rid of the thing if he tried, since it seemed to follow Kate everywhere she went – into the shelter. It wasn't much, mostly just bare rock with some bit of rock above their heads next to the road, but at least rock had never been known to catch fire. Mahal willing, they just might survive.

He had hardly finished that thought when it all started to fall apart. Thorin had been positioning Kate so that she might be more or less comfortable when he heard the rumbling laughter coming from behind him. And he would recognise that blood chilling sound anywhere. He had heard it at the Battle of Azanulbizar and he had heard it during their fight on the slopes of the Misty Mountains. It was a sound that one could never forget once heard.

He swivelled around, coming face to face with the Defiler. The Pale Orc did not seem to fear the fire raging around him. He stood there as if he was invincible, as if nothing could touch him. He was safe from the fire, safe from swords, axes and arrows. And maybe he was indeed untouchable. Thorin had battled the foul monster twice and both times Azog had survived. He was a little worse for wear, but he was still standing. Azog had survived the amputation of his right hand and Kate's try to hack off his leg had only resulted in a slight limp that hardly seemed to bother him at all.

Despite the heat caused by the raging fire around them Thorin could feel himself go all cold inside. What chance did he have now? His last encounter with the Defiler had taught him a valuable lesson and that was that no matter what he did, he was no match for the Defiler, not at all. Thorin always prided himself in being a fierce warrior, but he could not stand up to this Gundabad orc.

But he had to. Kate was still unconscious, unable to defend herself. And he may have lost every other member of his company on this day, unable to come to their aid, no matter how much he had wanted it. He would not let the one person he could actually defend fall into the hands of such a foul creature as Azog.

'_Did you think you could outrun me, Thorin, son of Thráin_?' Azog was mocking him and his inability to keep his company and himself safe. '_Did you not think I would come to find you_?'

Thorin had never doubted that in the end the Defiler would always find him. It was inevitable. That blood feud would always catch up to him in the end, no matter how much he hated it. He would never be safe as long as that orc still drew breath. And the feud would be the death of one of them one day. They had already clashed twice and no victor had emerged then. The dwarf king did not think such a thing could happen a third time. One of them would die before this day was out.

His fingers clenched around the hilt of Orcrist. Goblin-cleaver it meant. With any amount of luck he would see the truth of that within the next few minutes, or he'd be dead. And he could not die, not yet. His men may still be alive and there was Kate to consider as well. He was the only protection she had now. _I, Thorin, son of Thráin, so of Thrór, make this vow before Mahal: to protect and shield Catherine Sarah Andrews_. That oath still stood. And since Azog now believed her to be intimately involved with the house he had sworn to destroy, she was in as much danger as Thorin himself was. And right now he was all that stood between her and certain death.

Thorin risked the quickest of glances over his shoulder. The woman lay awfully still. Her chest still rose and fell with her shallow breathing, but it was hardly a consolation to the dwarf. She would not be waking anytime soon and there was nothing he could do to help her now, save for standing between her and the huge orc that would like nothing better than to kill her.

Azog unfortunately had seen that. '_I can't let her live of course_.' The words were threatening in and out of itself, but the tone and language in which they were spoken only added to it. A cold shiver went down Thorin's spine. '_She could be carrying your child even as we speak_.'

Normally Thorin would have choked on the thought of Kate carrying his child for the obvious reasons. Right now he did so for entirely different reasons. He was tempted to tell this orc that Kate had never been anything more than his friend, but even though it was the truth, Azog would never believe him, not when he was so convinced that Kate was Thorin's wife. And he was the King under the Mountain, albeit still in exile. He would not plead for his life or for the lives of his companions. He would not humiliate himself in such a way. And it would not do him any good either. The Defiler knew no mercy and therefore Thorin didn't ask for it.

The only reply he had for Azog was gripping his sword so tight his knuckles turned white. He would not be tempted to make that first move. Let Azog come to him. It would give him a better starting position and it wouldn't force him to leave the advisor without cover. And Azog would make use of that. He was already trying to lure him away so he could get to Kate, to get some leverage over Thorin, and he would not give it to him. He could hear an echo of the past resounding in his head. _He's trying to lure you out of this damned tree, you hairy buffoon! And right now, you are giving him exactly what he wants!_ But not this time. This time when they would fight, it would be on Thorin's terms and so he blocked out the insults and taunts the Pale Orc threw at him, meeting them with dignified silence.

'_You are the last of your line, Thorin, son of Thráin_.' The Defiler's face split in a terrifying grin. '_Your sister-sons are dead. It's only you now. How does it feel, knowing that you were not there to save them, knowing that they screamed your name as I ran them through, knowing that there was such desperation in their eyes when they realised you had abandoned them, knowing that they died alone, begging for your help_?' The grin only widened as he went on.

These were not lies. Thorin had always been good at sounding out liars – he had to be if he wanted to remain standing in politics – and Azog wasn't the liar material. He was many things, all of which Thorin despised, but he was not a liar. He was a warrior, boasting about his kills, knowing the exact impact of this brutal truth on his enemy.

Two emotions warred within Thorin: endless grief against burning hatred that was pulsing through his veins, banning out any physical discomfort he may have experienced. His heart clenched, feeling much more painful than any wound could ever have done. Fíli and Kíli both gone, brutally murdered for the crime of being born to a descendant of Thrór. It was all too easy to picture their broken bodies. Close together, he pictured them. The brothers had been inseparable since childhood. He hoped that their end had at least been quick. And in a way it was a comfort to know that they could not have suffered long. Not much time had passed since he had last seen them fighting and the moment the Defiler had shown up here. _Dís, forgive me. I tried. I tried so hard. I'm sorry. Forgive me._

He wanted to roar, cry his grief out to the skies and the flames, but it would be a sign of weakness and he could not show weakness. He was still alive and he needed his wits about him if he wanted to win this fight. And he wanted, _needed_ to win this fight. He may not be able to help his sister-sons now, but he owed it to them to avenge them if he could.

Rage was a safer emotion than grief, if not much safer. Rage would prevent him from going to pieces there and then, but it did make him want to storm at that orc over there and take his head clean off or die trying. The hatred coursed through his veins and it took every bit of will-power to remain in place. His mind was all too eager to provide him with the mental picture of Fíli's and Kíli's ends. It was even easier because of the fears that had already taken up residence in his head and heart. Kate's book had predicted their demise, not in such a fashion, but it had foretold their deaths all the same. Ever since then he had dreamed about the event regularly and now his mind overwhelmed him with all the scenarios he had feared so much.

Mahal protect them all. The lads had been so young still, had their entire lives still ahead of them. They had not had a part in this feud. Of course they had heard the stories, but that was different. They had not been a part of this. It had however not saved them from being murdered for it.

'_Did they tell you how your father begged for mercy_?' The words came flowing out of his mouth almost effortlessly. Thorin had never been able to pronounce the orcish language too well, but Azog would understand him. '_Did they tell you how he died, screaming like a slaughtered pig_?' He spat the words with every intent of angering his foe so much that he would throw caution to the wind and attack him.

He had been there on that fateful day, the day that had begun the feud that had made them end up here. It had been one of the first patrols his grandfather had allowed him to accompany him on. The area was supposed to be safe, so the ambush took them completely by surprise. Two guards were already dead on the ground by the time the dwarves had the time to react. But they had fought with all the determination and skill of their kind. Thrór had been at the very heart of the fighting, swinging his sword around with all the speed and skill of a dwarf only half his age. Thorin had seen it unfold before his very eyes. His grandfather had been a skilled warrior. It didn't take him long to make Azog's father lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. There had been screaming, and lots of it. But the orc had died shouting insult at his killer, not begging for mercy. But unlike Azog, Thorin knew how to lie if he needed to.

'_Did they tell you he choked on his own blood_?' Thorin went on. He had seen a flicker of unadulterated rage in his enemy's eyes and knew that he would get the reaction he was hoping for. '_Did they tell you his suffering lasted for hours before he died_?'

That last statement wasn't true. It had been a quick death, but there had been no orcs left alive to tell the tale. Thrór had just made the mistake to cut off the head and send it back to Mount Gundabad as a warning to the orcs there never to stray so close to the Mountain again. In all truth, it may be the dwarves that had begun the defiling, but they could not be held accountable for all the horror that had flown from it. Nothing could justify what the orcs had done after, nothing. And it could certainly not justify the violent murder of two innocent young dwarves.

But whether he had been lying or not, his words had hit home. The roar the Defiler let out made the ground under Thorin's feet almost shake. It temporarily even drowned out the sound of the raging flames. Thorin was almost in danger of forgetting the fire anyway, too emerged in the showdown with his sworn enemy.

The Pale Orc stormed forward, mace in his remaining hand, claw at the end of his other arm. There was something immensely threatening about this approach, but Thorin was beyond fear. The grief and anger had left no room for anything else to be felt. Even the concern for Kate had temporarily subsided. And strangely enough, he was calm. It was as if this was meant to be, no matter what the outcome would be. It didn't even seem to matter whether he lived or died. It just had to end here, in whatever way. Either Azog would die, or Thorin would find his end here. Either way, this feud would end today.

In the end, it was over before it had even begun. Azog all but threw himself at the dwarf king. The only thing Thorin had to do was to bring this sword up at exactly the right moment and he had done such a thing so many times that it hardly took any effort now. He could feel the elvish blade cut through skin, muscle and organs alike just before the Defiler's on-storming body knocked him off his feet, sending him flying. Some people would have let go of the sword because of the shock, but Thorin wasn't like them. His reaction was to hold on tight as he could – because letting go of a weapon was the biggest mistake one could make in a fight – even when he came into contact with the hard floor of the shelter, making his head spin, thick dwarven skull or not.

The breath was knocked out of him and his vision was blurred. He had felt exactly like this shortly before he passed out after fighting Azog last time. He knew the symptoms. He would not last long now.

But he could not pass out yet. He had to know. His eyes searched the patch of ground before the shelter, finding what he was looking for close by. The Defiler's body lay sprawled out on the floor. The mace had fallen out of his hand, lying somewhere close to him. But what really told Thorin what he needed to know was the vacant, empty expression in the Pale Orc's eyes, staring at a point to Thorin's right, not seeing a thing. The Defiler was no more.

He leaned back at the makeshift wall of the shelter, the last remnants of energy leaving his body now that he had done what he had needed to do. He could not feel triumph, not even relief. He just felt empty now. And his head was throbbing, his vision already blacking out around the edges. He just had the good sense to place his body between Kate and the threshold before he surrendered himself to unconsciousness.

* * *

From Thorin's notes: _Even if I would try, there are no words for this._

* * *

**Okay, I realise some of you are probably ready to pick up a pitchfork and kill me with it, but you had been warned. Anyway, try to have some patience with me please? This has not been done with yet.**

**On another note, this story is temporarily going back to one update a week. This has everything to do with another story of mine, **_**Just Another Normal Day**_**, being very close to finishing. I am trying to get that done before I go on holiday at the end of July, so that means that **_**Just Another Normal Day**_** goes up to two updates a week, and **_**The Journal**_** back to one, because I can't write them both at such speed. This will be for two weeks maximum as I have only about four and a half chapters left to write for that other story and I should be able to do that in two weeks. Meanwhile **_**The Journal**_** continues to update on Sundays. For the full message I direct you to my profile.**

**Next time: Thorin and Kate need to deal with the consequences of the inferno and the orc attack. Until then, reviews would be lovely. I'd love to hear what you thought about this chapter.**


	41. Chapter 41 Survivors

**Chapter 41**

**Survivors**

_Pretty gloomy, isn't it, my dears? Well, just let me assure you that it was even more so in real life. It was one of the scariest things that had ever happened to me and it frightened me, badly. Fortunately I missed out on most of the whole inferno due to being unconscious. At the time that frightened me too, but in hindsight I think I was only grateful that I did not have to suffer through Azog's last attack. _

_At least you now understand why your father and I have so little love of fire. This is a part of the tale we never told you before, I am indeed aware of that. It's not a part of our story we told to many people. You might ask why we did not and I think at first I told myself that there was no need for everyone to know exactly what happened there that day. We told them the basic facts, but not the true extent of the events. There was no need for it. We never truly agreed upon not relating that part of the story, we just did._

_So why did we not tell you the truth? Well, when you were old enough to be told of our adventures as a bedtime story, we simply edited it out because we did not think that such horrors would make for a story to tell one's children before they go off to sleep. We didn't want to make you suffer through nightmares. _

_Looking back however I think that was only part of the reason why we were not as open about this as we maybe should have been. The real reason was that neither of us could bring ourselves to face the memories of that day. They were too intense, too difficult to bear. Telling the true tale would mean that we had to put ourselves back there, relive all the horrors of that day and, call us cowards all you want, neither of us could truly do that. It hurt too much. For years after one of us, or sometimes even both of us, would suddenly wake from a nightmare about that attack, the fire, the horror of that day. It wasn't something that was easily forgotten._

_Even now it isn't easy for me to talk or write about it, and neither is it for Thorin, but you are our children and we promised you the true tale. You have a right to know. Sometimes things really are as simple as that. But we allowed the wrong story to come into the world and nothing made that more clear to me than seeing my two eldest sons pretending to be Thorin and Azog in their final fight. My dear boys, you made it all look so heroic, so honourable even. But it wasn't like that, not at all, and now you know the truth. It wasn't honourable and it wasn't heroic, but life is neither of those things most of the time, I have learned. _

_But at least one thing about the story you have always heard is true: Azog was dead…_

**Kate**

It was the throbbing pain in her shoulder that pierced through the foggy haze in her head eventually, dragging her back to the land of the living. Kate tried to fight it, tried to prevent the consciousness from kicking in. Her brain was so confused and she had trouble sorting out her memories, but something told her that this waking world was no place she wanted to be right now. It was too hot, too painful, too terrifying. Unconsciousness was safe. Nothing and nobody could hurt her there and she could pretend that everything would be all right again when she woke.

Things were not all right now. She wasn't even fully awake yet, but already she could feel the pains her body seemed all too eager to remind her of. Her left shoulder ached like it had never done before; a throbbing, burning kind of pain that soon demanded all her attention, forcefully dragging her away from her previous unconscious state. She cringed, as if she could get away from the pain that way, but her attempts of course were fruitless. It felt like something was holding a hot poke against her left shoulder and upper arm and she whimpered in spite of herself.

This alerted her to another problem she seemed to be experiencing. Her chest ached badly and the same was true for her mouth and throat. Every breath was a torture in and out of itself, making her want to cough and spit out whatever thing had gotten into her lungs. It burned and there didn't seem to be enough air getting into her lungs, no matter how deep the breaths were she took. Good grief, it _hurt_. It wasn't as bad anymore as the suffocating feeling she had experienced earlier, even though her mind was quite unable to pinpoint how exactly that had happened, but it still was less than pleasant and to be quite honest, it scared her.

She was lying on her back, that much was clear. There were rocks poking into her back and shoulders, making her want to find a more comfortable position than the one she was currently in. She would have tried to find one had she not been absolutely certain that there wasn't a position that would make her feel a little more comfortable.

There was a weight on her right shoulder and on her stomach as well. Both weights were heavy and warm, but it was a pleasant kind of warmth, not the hot burning she felt on her left arm. In a way it was a comfort, something that unexplainably felt safe. She could not put her finger on it, but in all the confusion and pain it felt like a safe place because of that. Maybe she could just lie here for a little while longer, eyes closed, trying to sort out her thoughts before she would force herself to leave that safe place once and for all. The pain was still demanding her undivided attention, but she tried to ignore it. That would be reserved for the moment she had to get up and face the world again. Maybe, if only she laid here long enough, she would drift back off again. It was a safe thought and Kate found herself longing for it. If only she could fall back asleep, then maybe all the pain would have miraculously disappeared by the time she woke up again.

She tried to find a slightly more comfortable position, but she was unable to find one. Light tried to come through her eyelids, in spite of them being closed. She turned her head towards the weight on her shoulder, hoping to use that to block out the light that was dragging her ever closer to the waking world, the one place she didn't want to be.

It was only when her head had already been half turned towards that weight when she realised what was wrong. It was too light. It couldn't be this light. They were still in Mirkwood. The trees here stood so close to each other that there was no way the light could have come through the leaves. The filtered half-light, yes, that could reach this place, but not the bright light of day, no, that could not. And they were nowhere near the end of the woods yet. Only a day or two ago Thorin had told her he believed them to be halfway through.

Yet the fact remained that this was daylight that was trying to keep her from going back to sleep again. Her curiosity got the better of her. She had to know and so she forced her eyes open, only to find herself staring at a rock ceiling. A closer inspection learned that she was lying in some sort of cave, even if that sounded like a bit of an exaggeration. It was more of a rock floor with a rock ceiling overhead.

But her closest surroundings were not all that important to her now. It was the space outside the cave that got her attention now. The trees had gone. Here and there were stumps to be seen, but they were burned black. The same was true for the ground and the parts that she could not see where covered with ash. The air was thick with smoke and ash mingled together, but the light of the sun could pierce through it now.

The memories hit her with the force of a bomb explosion as her mind shed the last of its confusion and sleep. It all came back to her now: the orcs, the fire, the fight. That was the point where things started to become hazy again. Kate remembered she had been injured and Thorin featured somewhere in that memory as well, but she must have passed out shortly after. It at least explained why her left shoulder and arm hurt so badly. It did however not explain how she had come to be here or why she was even still alive. Last time she checked she had been all but suffocating on the smoke and even if that miraculously had not killed her, then by all rights the blazing fire should have.

But here she was, alive and more or less in one piece. Yes, her shoulder and arm hurt like hell – not too much of a surprise since she'd been through one – and breathing was a torment in and out of itself, but she was still alive and that was more than she had dared to hope for. It was a lot to be grateful for, even if she still did not understand how she had come to be in this shelter.

Her attention shifted towards the weight on her shoulder. That almost made her heart stop. Kate could not say what it was she had expected to find there, but she was quite convinced that Thorin's head had not been on the list. But whether it had been on the list or not, it was the dwarf king's head resting there. Kate hardly dared to move, but a quick glance learned her that the weight on her stomach was in fact nothing less than his royal left arm.

Thorin's face was troubled, even in sleep. It almost looked as if he had been crying, but she dismissed that foolish thought immediately. Thorin would rather die than show weakness. He didn't cry. And it was hard to say for real anyway, because his face was a mess. He had a wound on his forehead. The blood had dried up now, but it now stuck to his hair and skin, making it look a whole lot worse than it probably was.

An alarming thought made it through to her head. Where were the others? Were the two of them the only ones left of their company or had their friends found a safe hiding place as well? She didn't know and as long as she was stuck here, serving as a glorified pillow for a certain dwarf, she wasn't going to go anywhere in a hurry either. She could always shove him off her, but something told her he would not thank her for that. He was probably unlikely to be pleased with the current sleeping arrangements. That was bound to be awkward when he woke.

_Will you please get a sodding grip on yourself?_ common sense scolded her the next second. _Your friends could be dead and you worry about what Thorin is going to think when he wakes? Sort out your priorities!_

It was right of course. If the others still lived there would be more than enough time to worry about such trivial matters. That time however was not now and lying here all day wasn't going to do them any favours either. So she lifted her left arm – her right was stuck between her body and Thorin's – and ignored the burning pain that movement caused her. She tried to bite back the tears and the scream that was dying to escape and touched his shoulder.

'Thorin, wake up.' It sounded insane and rather cliché, but it would have to do.

And, as it turned out, she didn't need to do more. Maybe it was some kind of warrior instinct, but the moment she touched him, his eyes flew open. His hand had grasped her left wrist in some sort of warrior instinct before he had even realised it was her. Kate had let out a muffled cry before she could stop herself. The sudden movement made the pain shoot through her arm, intensifying the burning pain in tenfold.

'Never do that again,' the dwarf told her in a cold voice.

'Gladly,' Kate moaned. 'Thorin, can you let go?' He was squeezing too hard again – no surprise there – but he was also pulling and that was what hurt so badly. 'I think there's something wrong with my left arm,' she confessed, not making that confession willingly, but keeping quiet about such an injury would do her no favours in the long run.

The dwarf sat up in one fluent motion, the cold leaving his eyes, for which the advisor was grateful. 'You are hurt.' It wasn't a question, more of a realisation of something he had known, but since forgotten.

'A sword wound,' she reported, deciding to leave the breathing troubles out of it. Every breath still hurt and it was likely to continue to do so for some time, but she could work with it. And she was not about to burden her friend with problems neither of them could do anything about. When they had started on this quest she would have done such a thing, but they had come a long way since then and she was no longer that loud-mouthed aspiring journalist. She was not a girl anymore. She was a grown woman now and she should act accordingly. In this harsh place there was no room for naïve girls. 'And something else fell on it just before I passed out, but I don't know what.'

'A burning branch,' Thorin replied curtly. 'Let me see.' His tone was as gruff and unsociable as she had ever heard it and she wondered if there was something she had done that had caused him to sound like that. Or was it just the natural result of having suffered through such a hell, which, come to think of it, was partly her fault?

'Thorin, I am sorry,' she began, biting on her lip. 'Had I known what I unleashed, I would never have done it…'

He cut her off. 'I do not blame you,' he told her sternly. 'And you should not blame yourself.'

Kate could only shoot him a puzzled look. She had sat up now, so if she looked right ahead she could look right into his eyes. But they yielded none of their owner's secrets. Kate had not really expected them to, but it would have been nice to get an insight in the workings of his mind just now. At the moment she had no idea what he was thinking. And she wanted to know what he was thinking, because it didn't make any sense why he would not blame her. All their companions could have perished in that fire of hers and he was not blaming her? Had he lost his mind in the time that she was out?

'Why?' It seemed like the only thing she could ask.

Thorin had been looking at her wound, but now his gaze met hers steadily. 'We might have died either way.' Something in his tone told her that he was thinking like he was for reasons as of yet unspecified.

'There's something you're not telling me.' It was a simple conclusion, but one that made her fear the answer as well. This was unlikely to be good and Kate wasn't even sure she wanted to hear what it was he was keeping from her. _That's childish behaviour. You're not a child anymore, so get a freaking grip_. Pleasant or not – with the latter being the most likely – she had a need to know. 'Thorin?'

Thorin tried to avoid the question by removing the cloth from her shirt from the wound, making Kate hiss in pain. The left sleeve was already reduced to a first class rag, thanks to a certain orc's cutting abilities, but the blood had glued the remaining fabric to the cut and even though she could tell Thorin was trying to be gentle, it hurt when he was trying to remove it.

'I apologise for hurting you,' was the response she got. 'But it has to be done.'

'I know.' Kate's reply came out from between clenched teeth as she strengthened her resolve not to cry. She was not a child anymore and she could handle the pain. If she told herself this long enough, she might will it to be true. And Thorin did need to do something about her injury. If he didn't it could infect and that would be much more disastrous. It did not change the fact that she suspected Thorin was only keeping his eyes on the wound because he was avoiding her eyes for some reason she did not yet understand. He was keeping something from her and the notion of that only grew as time passed. 'How bad is it?' She decided to let him off the hook for the time being. She could hardly think anyway now that he was seeing to the wound, making the advisor want to scream in agony the moment he laid as much as a finger on it.

'You'll live.' The statement was accompanied by the removal of the last of the sleeve.

Kate had let out a cry before she could stop herself. 'Damn it, Thorin.' The burning pain shot up her arm, making her eyes tear before she could even begin to check it. She could not even remember when or even if she had last felt so badly. The pain made her want to throw up or want to scream, or both. 'You make it sound so bloody reassuring right now.' She knew her language was likely to offend him, but just this once she could not bring herself to care.

There was something he was not telling her, but for now she was content to wait until he was done seeing to her wound. And it was rather obvious that he was not some kind of physician. He did his best, but it still hurt as hell and Kate was quite sure that at least that wound the blade had caused was supposed to be stitched up, but neither of them knew how to do that. That was what Óin was for in the company. Kate bit her lip as she remembered that he may very well be dead. No, he had to live, they all had to. Maybe they too had found some kind of shelter somewhere before it was too late. She would force herself to believe that until someone could prove that it wasn't so.

_Since when are you such an optimist?_ that little voice in the back of her head wondered.

_Since I'd go crazy otherwise_, she bit back at it.

Thorin made her a sling to put her left arm through after he had bandaged the injury with what at some point in time must have been a shirt. Well, this was hardly the time to be sentimental about clothes. They had other and better things to concern themselves with. Such as the things her friend was not telling her at the moment. And the longer the silence lingered, the more convinced Kate became that it was something disastrous. Not for the first time she regretted having passed out in the middle of the fight. Had she been awake, she might have known what happened. But wishing would not do her any good now. She would have to get it from the horse's mouth. And as it was, said mouth was unlikely to open of its own volition.

'What is it you're not telling me?' she demanded the moment the dwarf king leaned back against the meagre wall of their shelter. Beating around the bush would not get her the answers she wanted and needed, so she'd better get down to it right away. 'What happened when I was so bloody inconveniently unconscious?' The tension made her sound snappy and irritable, which she probably was. There was something very unnerving about Thorin being so silent. He was quiet often enough, but there was always something dignified about it. This was in no way a dignified silence.

Kate took a moment to study his face. Apart from the mess the blood had made he looked… well, haunted was the word, she supposed. And that sent another shiver down her spine. Something was terribly wrong and that something was quite possibly related to what had happened when she had set the forest alight. She had only seen him look like this once before and that was after he had read the book. That was not exactly a good sign either.

'Thorin?' she urged softly, her voice barely above a whisper for reasons she could not quite comprehend.

The barest hint of a smile graced his face. It didn't escape the advisor's notice that his eyes didn't join in. 'Are you trying to be a social worker?' he wondered.

But Kate was not in the mood for jokes. The longer he evaded the question, the more worried she became. If he didn't tell her, it could only be something so terrible he did not want her to know and that was not reassuring at all. Quite the contrary, it scared the living daylights out of her.

_Your fault, your fault_. Her mind kept up a constant mantra, as if she was ever in danger of forgetting that this nightmare was of her own making anytime soon. Kate didn't think she'd ever be able to forget. It was too horrible. And it was all her fault. Had she not commanded Bilbo to set fire to this cursed forest, none of this would have happened. They might have been able to get out with just the shooting. That surely would have taken out the worst orcs and the wargs, after which killing the remaining force should have been child's play. What on earth had she been thinking, trying to think of a plan to get them out of that tight spot? If anything, she had only made things worse and she was all too aware of that. And therefore every death in their company was on her conscience. The thought made her want to throw up with self-disgust.

All this made her snappy. 'Will you just spit it out already?' she all but growled at the dwarf. 'What the bloody hell happened?' Part of her did not want to know at all, but that was cowardly. And at any rate, not knowing was worse.

'Azog.' It was only one word, but the tone of voice in which the name was spoken and the word itself made it perfectly clear that something about that encounter had not gone quite according to plan. It wasn't too much of a surprise, but it was still worse than Kate had anticipated.

She gave him a quick once over, checking for injuries, but apart from the blood on his face there didn't seem to be anything. He had made it out in a better condition than last time and that was something to be grateful for at least. 'What…?' she began to ask.

Thorin cut her off. 'He died.' His fists clenched, but he was looking at a point somewhere left of Kate's head. For some reason she did not think his anger was directed at her. That was a relief, if not a very big one. Thorin was curt and snappy often enough, but something was different this time. She could almost taste the pain that was barely concealed underneath the anger.

'That isn't all that happened.' Kate decided not to phrase it as a question, but rather as a conclusion. Thorin ought to have been glad that his sworn enemy had gone, but there did not even seem to be relief. And this wasn't just the worry about his men, Kate could tell. This was something else entirely. This looked more like a man in mourning than anything else.

She had hardly made that observation when she saw a sight she had never ever seen before. A tear escaped from Thorin's eyes. Her observation had been right.

Kate felt as if she had swallowed a glacier whole. She had gone all cold inside. Not even the burning in the wound on her shoulder distracted her from that now. 'Who?' The whisper must be hardly audible, but Thorin had heard her nonetheless. He looked up at her. The combination of grief and anger she saw in those eyes made Kate's heart clench and she had to swallow, hard, to get a grip on herself.

It wasn't any use though. She broke down herself when Thorin answered. 'Fíli and Kíli.'

**Thorin**

Thorin Oakenshield did not cry. It was an unspoken rule and he lived by it. His grandfather had once, when he was only a boy, told him that he could never show weakness. Crying was a sign of weakness. He could never be seen to do that and so he had taught himself to find other ways to deal with the pain.

When Smaug had taken Erebor, he had reacted with anger. The elves had abandoned them and that gave him a good reason to feel the fury, allow it to overwhelm him so it would drown out the pain and the grief. It had helped him live through that first horrible few months.

When Azog had slain Thrór at Azanulbizar he had reacted with revenge. Caving in to the grief in the middle of a battle would have done him no good and in any case it was better to take it out on the one who was to blame for his loss in the first place. Revenge on Azog had kept him from losing his mind then and the knowledge – however untrue – that he had avenged his grandfather had given him some measure of relief.

When his father had gone missing, Thorin had been close to losing the battle against the tears. But there was still an entire people looking to him for guidance and he could simply not afford to break down. He was their king and they needed to put their faith in him or they would all be lost. His responsibilities kept him busy from dawn till dusk so that when he fell asleep at night, he was so exhausted there was simply no time left to let his mind dwell on his father's unknown fate. And time had proven to be the greatest healer. It did not became any easier to bear, but he got used to it, learned to live with it. He simply had to.

But now his sister-sons had been murdered, none of his strategies seemed to be of any use. He had tried revenge and that had been successful. Azog was dead, gone from this world. He would never harm another person again. Thorin had finished what he had begun at Azanulbizar. But it did not give him the relief he had been hoping for. And anger was of no use now either. There was no one left to be angry with. He had slain the one responsible and any amount of fury he may now feel was futile.

Thorin supposed he could seek solace in his responsibilities. His men may still be out there somewhere. They may have survived the inferno. It was not impossible. He had found a shelter, the others might have as well. Mirkwood had a lot of places like these. There was a reasonable chance they had found them and in that case it was his responsibility to find them and lead them as far away from here as he could. And even if by some chance Kate and Thorin were the sole survivors, he was still responsible for her, especially now that she was wounded. It just didn't seem more important than the loss of his sister-sons. Nothing seemed more important than that.

They had been under his protection. Dís had entrusted them to him, had made him swear that he would do whatever it took to keep them safe, to keep them alive. He had failed both her and her sons. _How does it feel, knowing that you were not there to save them? _Fíli and Kíli had been all alone. No one had been there to come to their aid. When the end had come for them, they had been on their own, despite Thorin's vow to be there._ Knowing that they screamed your name as I ran them through? _His mind was all too eager to provide him with the picture of that event. No matter how courageous his lads had been, anyone would have voiced their panic. Thorin himself would not have been able to keep quiet. He could picture their faces, panic written over their faces, mingled with fear as Azog's blade pierced them._ Knowing that there was such desperation in their eyes when they realised you had abandoned them? _This too he could picture without any effort. He could see his sister-sons, lying on the forest floor, fear in their eyes as they realised that no one would be coming for them, that this truly was the end and there was nothing anyone could do for them._ Knowing that they died alone, begging for your help? _

Azog's taunting words kept echoing through his head. His fists clenched and now the battle against the tears was well and truly lost. He had failed and the weight of his failure was weighing down heavily on him. He had known that this quest would be dangerous, even more so after he had read Kate's book. He had known that not all of them would live to see it completed. It was the risk of the mission, but never once had he truly been open to the possibility of Fíli and Kíli dying, and certainly not in such a manner. It hurt too much and it hurt to know that nothing he could have done could have stopped this. Because who was to say Azog would not have found them anyway? The Defiler had been what Kate called hell-bent on their destruction. Had he not found them here, he would have caught up to them later.

Maybe that was why he could not blame Kate for the inferno. It was obvious that she did blame herself. It was on her face for all with eyes to see. The pain and the shame there were unlikely the result of the ugly-looking mess the orc and the burning branch had made of her left arm. For both of them their injuries did not seem too important anymore, not when there were so many other things to be concerned about.

He looked down at his fists, inwardly cursing his own inability to keep everyone safe as he had promised himself he would do. His men had entrusted their fate to him, had been willing to give up everything for this quest, even though many of them had never laid eyes on the Mountain themselves. They had followed a story, a leader. None of them had been dreaming of Erebor like he had done. And for that very reason Thorin owed it to them to make sure that they came home again. Instead of home he had led them to their end.

His vision was swimming with tears he tried and failed to bite back. Thorin avoided looking at his companion. He could not bear to face her in that moment of weakness. She may be a little different from the others, but she too looked to him for leadership, even when she threw his commands to the wind whenever it suited her. She could not see him cry. Kate was already frail, at the moment in both mind and body, and he did not need to give her a reason to break down entirely.

And because he wasn't looking, he missed out on the hand that was put on his shoulder and then squeezed it in a somewhat reassuring manner. He looked up, not sure what he expected to find. He found Kate's face, a lot closer to him than he would have been comfortable with in normal situations. But this was not a normal situation. He couldn't bring himself to care anymore, which was an alarming development in and out of itself.

'I'm sorry.' The words were barely more than a whisper. The advisor bit her lip and Thorin saw that tears were forming in her eyes as well. He wanted to bang his head against something for being as stupid as to forget that Fíli and Kíli had been her friends, good friends. Her grief could not be, could never be, as strong as Thorin's own, but she too had suffered a loss. 'Oh, my God, Thorin, I'm so sorry.' The tears started trickling down her cheeks and unlike Thorin, Kate did not even try to hold them back. 'I wish there was something I could have done…' Her voice trailed off.

Under any other circumstance Thorin would have found the very notion of Kate standing up to a huge Gundabad orc laughable, but not today. Today her words were a strange comfort, a notion that she truly would have done something if only she had been there. Because her words were genuine. Only a fool would not hear that.

'There was nothing you could have done.' And neither could any of them. No matter how much he wished he had been there, when it came down to it Thorin knew that nothing could have been done. It was the nature of the fight. He could not have done anything else. Had he done that he would have died himself long before he would have been able to get to his sister-sons. There had been too many orcs between them. To try and fight his way through would have been the death of him and presumably Kate as well. It was as frustrating as it was true.

Kate bit her lip again, so hard it actually started bleeding. 'It doesn't change the fact that I would have wanted to be there.' Her eyes were still teary and her voice still sad, but when she met Thorin's eyes he could see anger underneath the sadness. Frustration, he would call it, and there was still the shame as well. Mahal, had that woman still not realised that this might have been the way it turned out even if she had not ordered the halfling to start the fire?

Kate studied his face. Thorin did not know what it was that she saw there, but he did know it made him nervous. His mask of habitual calm had gotten lost sometime during the fight, around the point where Azog had so cheerfully informed him of his nephews' deaths, and he did not like it that Kate could now read his face as if it was that cursed book of hers. It was almost impossible to hide anything at the present time.

But whatever it was that she would do with what she found on his face, that was something Thorin did not have an answer to and in his present state he did not mind that at all. He could not care about what it was that she did. Doubtlessly he would mind later, but not now.

Kate's actions however came as a surprise. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then the well-known what-do-I-care-for-the-consequences-expression appeared on her face. Her right hand, that was still positioned on his left shoulder, travelled a little further down his back and before he could even begin to figure out the meaning of that he was pulled into an one-armed embrace. He stiffened for a moment, not sure what to do with something that unfamiliar. He wasn't the one to be embraced and he wasn't the dwarf to embrace others either. He stood on his own and kept others at a distance. He could handle his grief and pain alone.

Or that was what he told himself, because clearly today he could not. He had already lost control over himself enough for Kate to notice. She already knew, or at the very least guessed, how much this loss was affecting him. And what did it even matter? The two of them could be the last ones alive. And even if they were not, nothing was further from his mind now than his reputation.

Kate had felt his unease and was already starting to pull back. Thorin made a spur of the moment decision and stopped her from going entirely by returning the embrace, pulling her a little closer. With both of them still sitting it was not the best position, but the dwarf could, at least for now, not care less. And although he would never admit this when called on, he drew strength from the physical closeness of another living person, especially since that person seemed to know what was going on inside his head and had seemed to know what he needed most before he had even known it himself. It was a strange experience and not one he thought they would ever repeat once they left this shelter. For some reason this little sanctuary did not seem to be a part of the real world. It just existed, almost outside time itself. Once they left it he would need to be strong again, but not just yet.

It was strange, he realised as he felt Kate's head on his shoulder, that Kate Andrews of all people should be the one to comfort him in such a manner. He could not even begin to understand why she had been the one he had shown such weakness to in the first place. But somehow it had happened and he did not even feel as ashamed of it as he probably should. Something about it seemed natural. Maybe it was just because they were friends and maybe it was just because he was not capable of caring about anything just yet.

Time passed and in hindsight Thorin would never be able to tell just how much. No words were spoken. Save for the sound of their breathing it was quiet. With their immediate environment burned there was no sound of anything living at all reaching them. For some reason Thorin sensed that Kate was drawing strength from his presence as much as he was from hers. It was a reassurance in a way.

'We need to get moving, don't we?' Kate asked when eventually they let go of one another.

Thorin nodded. 'Some of the others may yet be alive.'

The hesitance he had seen in the advisor's eyes only seconds before made way for determination. 'Right.' She reached for her bag and tried to get to her feet, hissing sharply when she made a wrong move. 'Shit!'

Thorin followed her example, helping her to her feet and taking her bag from her without asking for permission. The way her arm was, she would not be able to carry it properly. The grief for Fíli and Kíli had not lessened, not at least, but now that he had a purpose he could at least think around it. And he needed to do something, or he'd lose his mind. With at least still one other person depending on him, he could not allow himself to break down. That he had done so already was a grave mistake.

'I can handle it, Thorin,' Kate told him. Her tone was a little snappy and Thorin understood where that was coming from. The advisor hated being weak when she had worked so long to prove that she in fact wasn't.

And the dwarf did not think her weak. She may lack bodily strength, but she made up for it in strength of mind, something he had come to appreciate her for. But right now she was injured and gravely so. 'Sit,' he told her. 'I'll have a look around.' If Óin was still alive he would scold him for letting the advisor move in her current condition and rightly so.

He was rewarded with Kate's most dismissive glare. 'Like hell I'm not!' she snapped, walking out of the shelter to demonstrate the point. Her eyes silently pleaded with him. 'Please, Thorin. If I won't do something, I think I'd go mad.'

Thorin could not help but frown at those last words. How strange that the woman thought along the same lines as he himself did. But at any rate he could not reasonably deny her wish now, not when he could understand so well what it was that she felt. He could not be able to bear to be left behind either with only his thoughts for company. They weren't happy thoughts and he would do almost anything not to have to listen to them.

He gave a curt nod and extended his hand to her. Kate eyes it warily. 'What is that supposed to be for?'

Thorin remembered Rivendell when she had reacted to the offered help with almost the exact same look. 'Lean on me,' he told her.

Kate's snappiness resurfaced almost immediately. 'My arm is hurt, not my leg.'

_I know_. Thorin ignored her all the same and slipped his arm around her waist, realising once again how fragile she was. It was a miracle such a woman had survived such a fierce fight.

'You're so bloody bossy,' Kate grumbled, but she didn't voice any other protests, letting him guide her away from the shelter without even trying to break free, which was a novelty. Thorin could not even tell why he offered her help when it was clear that she did not need it. He told himself it had nothing to do whatsoever with the comfort her touch had been just now. If Kíli had still been alive he would have used this as a confirmation for his longstanding suspicions about the two of them. If only Kíli were here to make those cursed suggestions of his. Thorin would have welcomed them, thanked Kíli for it even.

Kate did turn out to have some trouble walking. She must have twisted her ankle slightly at some point, but neither of them commented on it. They had retreated into their own heads. Thorin recognised the distant look in Kate's eyes she always had when her thoughts were miles away.

The forest was gone. It just was not there anymore. For miles and miles the only thing to be seen was blackened earth and scorched tree stumps. Only on the far horizons was still be forest left. Thorin could not see either fire or smoke there, so he presumed that at some time the fire must have died down, even if he did not know how that was possible. Neither did he care. He just took it for a fact.

The road was still more or less recognisable. It had always been a little higher than the rest of the forest and there had not been many things on it the fire could consume. He guided them back onto it, because it was easier and they would be able to walk faster on it. And he wanted to get back to the attack scene first, to find some clues, should there still be any. He had never been much of a tracker and tracks never yielded many secrets to him, but he would be grateful for even the smallest of clues now. And besides, where else should he go?

Kate walked, or rather hopped, along beside him, not saying anything. At the moment he could not even begin to guess at her thoughts, but he didn't think anything escaped her notice at the moment. She saw everything. And she was also the one to nudge him softly in the ribs. 'Thorin, I think I see movement over there.' She pointed to a large rock that was slightly off the road somewhere ahead of them.

Thorin's hand crept towards Orcrist of its own volition. He did not hope so, but it could be that some orcs had survived as well. Fire did not care if it took orcs or dwarves. It consumed both races with equal enthusiasm. Only then did his gaze follow Kate's finger to the place she had indicated.

At first there was nothing, but then he saw it too. Movement somewhere behind the rock. Someone was there and that someone was still alive and well enough to walk around. He could only see the top of a head and nothing more until the person appeared from behind the boulder.

And then Thorin recognised. 'Dwalin!' He had called the name without giving himself permission to do so. It was a foolish thing to shout out loud in an environment that may still be harbouring enemies, but for just this once the relief won out over his caution. There was at least one other yet living. It was more than he had any right to hope for. He increased his pace, more or less dragging Kate with him, but the woman did not seem to care this time. She hopped along as well as she could.

Dwalin's head swivelled in their direction and they were now close enough to see the relieved grin on his face as he marched over to them. 'Mahal, Thorin, it is good to see you.' The warrior had never been a man of many words, but the relief was obvious to anyone with ears to hear it. 'We had thought you lost.'

We. Plural. There were more still alive. Mahal be praised. It took him all his willpower not to crumble there and then with the sheer relief of it all. Instead he conjured up his mask of calm, giving his friend a curt, but friendly nod as Dwalin clasped his right arm in warrior greeting. 'We are alive,' he said.

Dwalin's gaze went to Kate, or, more specifically, Kate's arm. 'What happened to you?' The tone was gruff, but there did seem to be some genuine concern. The two of them had never liked one another, but they had struck a truce some weeks ago, for which Thorin was grateful.

Kate frowned. 'Orc's blade and burning branch,' she reported. 'Bloody orcs,' she added, muttering under her breath.

Dwalin guffawed. 'That's orcs for you, lass.' The relief had definitely made him more talkative than Thorin had seen him in a long while. And that without the help of alcohol. 'Better let Óin take a look at that before it infects.' He hardly gave king and advisor the time to process that the company medic had made it through as well, before he looked over his shoulder and bellowed: 'Fíli, Kíli, come on, give me a hand! The advisor is injured.'

Thorin froze in place, eyes fixed on the boulder from behind which now two familiar figures appeared. He had believed them dead, had believed Azog had brutally murdered them, but here they were, alive and seemingly uninjured. He had to swallow hard to get a grip on himself. This was more than he could ever have hoped for. His hands were trembling, but fortunately for him both Dwalin and Kate had the decency not to notice.

It was not a conscious act when he let go of Kate when his sister-sons approached. Neither was it a conscious act to haul both of them in a bear-like hug before they had the chance to realise what happened. For now he needed to feel them, feel that they were alive and that Azog had indeed lied. He had believed the Defiler, never doubting that he had spoken the truth. Never in all his life had he been so grateful that he had been wrong.

Fíli and Kíli did not protest the treatment, nor did they comment on it. This was something that went without words. And it was good that way. They understood each other anyway.

'Mahal be praised,' he muttered when he let them go eventually.

'Never knew you were that fond of us,' Kíli quipped. The tone was light and teasing, but Thorin could feel more than he could hear that all three of them were glad to be reunited. Apparently Thorin did not have the monopoly on worrying about his family, no matter how strange the notion. At the same time he regretted the circumstances that made it necessary for such young dwarves to worry to such an extent.

'I've always been.' Like Kate would say, to hell with propriety and decorum. They had lived through an orc attack and the biggest forest fire Middle Earth had witnessed in ages. They could be allowed to let down their guards for just a little while. But not for too long and so he turned back to Dwalin. 'How many did we lose?' He could not allow his relief to override his responsibilities as a leader. He still had a duty towards his company.

Dwalin's face had been more or less relaxed, but the serious expression crept back on it before the last word had left Thorin's mouth. 'Only one,' he reported. 'And he is yet unaccounted for.'

Only one. It should be a relief and the fact that he was still unaccounted for could mean he was still alive and hiding somewhere, but Thorin could not help but feel a cold shiver go down his spine.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _One missing is still one too many. Good heavens, what have I done?_

* * *

**So, I hope that will put all your nerves at rest a bit! This chapter had been written before I published the previous, so it never was going to end this tragically. Still, happy birthday, **_**uno mega**_**. I hope this is to your liking!**

**Next chapter should be up next Sunday, but after that this chapter will go back to being updated twice a week. I should be able to finish my other story within that time period.**

**In the meantime, I'd love to hear what you think about this chapter. Please review?**


	42. Chapter 42 Coping

**Chapter 42**

**Coping**

_As Dwalin guided us back to the hide-out the rest of the company was currently using, he quickly filled us in on what we had been missing. Most of the dwarves had taken to hiding in that shelter, very much like the one Thorin and I had been using, including Bilbo, as soon as the fight on the road had ended with the death of the last orc they had been able to find. Only Balin and Bombur had hidden in another cave-like shelter on the other side of the road, but they had joined the others as soon as the fire had gone out. That had, for them, only left Bifur, Thorin and me left as missing. Thorin and I had turned up, Bifur had not._

_I could see Thorin's face darken. The past few months had taught me that your father took his responsibilities as a leader far more serious than I would have thought when I joined the company and I could tell he held himself responsible._

_At least he was not alone in that. I held myself responsible for Bifur going missing. I know better now, but at that moment I did not and I had no reservations about blaming myself. Kíli kindly advised me to shut up, an expression he had stolen from me in the first place, so naturally it didn't work at all. He was still stronger than I was though and so he led me to Óin with a firm hand. My protests that my injuries could wait and that I should join the search party the others were now organising fell on deaf ears, literally so, I might say. Óin either did not hear me or pretended he did not – I really do have some suspicions about that hearing problem of his, since he always reacted well enough whenever Bombur announced that the food was ready – ordering me to sit down and let him do his job. The fact that Dori physically held me down might have something to do with the fact that I actually did what I was told._

_But I felt like sitting on a hedgehog. Thorin had taken everyone who was not in some way injured to search for Bifur, hoping that he was still alive somewhere. I didn't even fully notice what Óin was doing. Well, I did feel it, but it ceased to be of importance. I had too many other things to be concerned about._

_I think that's actually the worst. It isn't the fight, because during a fight you're just too preoccupied to think about the fate of your comrades. You're doing something to protect them and if you're not, you're too busy trying to keep yourself alive. I think it's the aftermath that's the worst. My mind was working overtime, imagining all kinds of worst case scenarios as Óin stitched me up, muttering under his breath that I really ought to be more careful. I told him he should just tell the orcs to back off. The company medic pretended not to hear me._

_Time passed, but it passed slowly. Still, it can't have been that much later when the search party returned. The looks on their faces told me everything I did not want to know…_

**Kate**

Kate knew the search party wasn't returning with good news. There had been no chance of that, not really. Still, she could hope and that was what she had been doing ever since Dwalin had said that Bifur was still missing. He could be sleeping in some shelter they had not yet seen. He could have been wounded, in which case he could still be unconscious. Or he could have wandered off on his own in search of the others, having believed that they had moved on already. There were a number of reasons why they had not yet located him, but when the group entered again, her hopes were crushed.

Dwalin bore a sombre expression, one that did not seem to suit him at all, and Thorin's was very much alike. Fíli and Kíli were unusually quiet. Bofur was trying to hide the evidence of his distress, but his eyes were red and swollen and Kate could see a tear trickling down one of his cheeks and into his beard. The companions who had stayed in the shelter, most of whom were in some way injured, only had to see this sight to know what news it was the search party brought.

'He's gone.' It was Thorin who broke the news in his usual curt way of speaking. There was anger in his voice, the kind that told everyone with ears to hear that he personally wanted to throttle someone and then revive them to kill them all over again.

Bombur's usually cheerful expression had turned to an expression so sad that Kate would have started to cry if she had not been doing that already. As it was, the tears were already trickling down her cheeks, no matter how hard she tried to bite them back. _My fault, all my fault_. Why in the name of all that was holy had she ever come up with this stupid, stupid idea? Now Bifur was dead and she was responsible.

Kate had never been close with Bombur's cousin. It had been difficult for anyone to be very close to Bifur. Hardly anyone seemed to understand him and he had certain habits that had might seem strange and bewildering and that tended to put people off. To her eternal shame Kate too had kept him at arm's length at the start of the journey. Nevertheless the dwarf with the axe stuck in his head had been one of the few dwarves to be kind to her ever since he had met her and that was worth a good deal. He had strange ways of showing it and at first she had not realised at all that those kind gestures were of his making to begin with. Sometimes she would find that one of her chores had already been taken care of or she would find a flower or a curiously shaped stone on her makeshift pillow when she woke. Bifur had been kind to her and she had never properly thanked him for it. And now it would be too late to thank him for anything.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered. 'Oh, dear God, I'm so sorry.' _My fault, my fault_. She could feel that she was trembling and the voices talking around her sounded as if they were coming from afar, not from anywhere near her at all. _My fault, my fault_. The mantra was drowning out all the other sounds.

'I think she's in shock,' someone said. It could have been Dori and he sounded like he was panicking. Somehow though it did not seem to matter much. It did not seem to matter at all.

'Slap her,' someone else advised.

Yet someone else growled low in their throat. 'Act on that and I'll…'

This person was interrupted. 'Thorin, we need to snap her out of this.'

'Don't you _dare_ think about it, Balin.' The words were more of a snarl than a normal command.

Kate vaguely registered that they were talking about her, but this did not truly mean anything to her. Maybe she was in shock. If that was so, then it felt safer than being not in shock. In her current state of mind she could still feel all the guilt, but the recent events seemed almost surreal to her, as if they had never truly happened at all and that, at the present time, was a most welcome idea. Once she was snapped, or slapped, out of this, she would have face the consequences of her actions and she knew full well that she was not ready to do that.

Because no matter which way you chose to look at this, had she not started the fire, Bifur would still be alive. It was her hair-brained scheme that had cost that friendly if slightly weird dwarf his life. She did not understand why the others could not see that it was her fault. Thorin had already told her that she was not to blame for Bifur's demise and the fact that Bofur and Bombur had not yet rounded on her was a hint that they did not blame her either.

The lack of reaction was a bit disturbing, actually. Kate had rather they would shout at her than that they worried about her. Shouting she could handle, but people telling her that something was not her fault, even when it so obviously was, she could not. Maybe they just didn't know. Maybe Bilbo had not told them yet that it had been her idea to set fire to a forest in order to escape from their attackers. Of course the only thing she had succeeded in was making things ten times worse, if not more.

She was dragged back to the real world when someone suddenly yanked her from her spot on a rock and hauled her in a bear-like hug, very nearly crushing her. 'What…?' she meant to ask, but she found that every sound she tried to make was muffled by the presence of a huge red braided beard.

'It's not your fault, lass.' The voice saying this belonged to Bombur, as she had half guessed already because of the presence of the beard. What she had not expected was for him to say these words to her, not so soon after learning his cousin had died as what may well be the result of what she had set in motion. Bombur was trying not to cry, but he was failing in that mission. Kate could almost hear the tears in his voice.

'It is,' she insisted. It wasn't that she was so bloody keen on getting blamed, but it was the truth and she could not run away from it, no matter how much she wanted to. Running away had ceased to be an option the moment she had made this quest her own. From now on she would have to face the consequences of her actions. 'Bombur, I told Bilbo to make the fire.' She tried to wriggle out of his grasp so that she could face him, but winced when she twisted her arm as she did so. It was still very tender, burning and throbbing, but she could think around the pain, which was something. 'If I hadn't told him…'

'It wasn't the fire what killed him,' a gruff voice interrupted.

Kate swivelled around to look at Dwalin. 'What do you mean?' she asked.

'Get up,' he told her. The tone of voice was still unfriendly. He reminded her a lot of Thorin in that moment. They had the same commanding tone when they wanted something done. But unlike Thorin Dwalin was not a dwarf to be disobeyed. When he commanded she did something, she had to do it.

'No,' Dori said. The fact that Kate was not questioning the warrior's order was no guarantee that her older brother would not step in. Nori's echoing 'no' followed just a second later. 'Dwalin, she is my sister! You cannot…'

Dwalin only sent him a withering glance. 'She needs it,' was the curt reply.

Kate had lost track of what it was they were disagreeing about around the time Dori started to voice his protest. She wasn't even sure she knew what Dwalin wanted her to get up for. It had to do with Bifur, that she could guess, but that was it.

'Need what?' she asked. She still was caught in Bombur's hug, even though she had managed to turn around a little so she could follow what was going on around her. So far it had not been very enlightening.

Both of them ignored her. 'Now see here,' Dori began, one of those tell-tale signs that someone was about to find themselves on the receiving end of one of Dori's lectures, the kind of lecture that would send most of the company running for the hills without as much as a second thought. 'You cannot just go and show her something like that. Kate has been injured. She needs rest. If you upset her…' His voice trailed off, leaving Dwalin to think about the consequences for himself. And if he got his way, then consequences there would be. Dori may seem like a gentle soul most of the time, but he matched the half-bald warrior when it came to bodily strength, a fact he was well aware of.

'Dori, knock it off!' The reaction was almost automatic for Kate, a reflex when she heard him trying to fight her battles for her, a fact that was only more annoying because she could not for the life of her tell what battle it even was that he was trying to fight on her behalf. It would surely be with the very best of intentions, but that did not change the fact that she had told him many times before that she wanted to fix her own problems.

Kate realised that no matter how irritating this was, it did distract her from things she did not want to feel. That made her almost grateful for the argument that was unfolding before her very eyes. If she was really honest, she relished any chance to forget about what had happened and her own, less than glorious, part in it.

Not that her protests were helping. 'Look at her,' Dwalin said, jerking his head in Kate's direction. Both dwarves were still happily ignoring the advisor.

'That's what I'm doing,' Dori shot back. 'She should not be allowed to see such things. She is fragile enough as it is.'

It was the word fragile that did it, Kate knew. She hated being mollycoddled and if anything, Dori would mollycoddle her to death if only given half a chance. The advisor still was not sure about what Dwalin wanted with her, but it was bound to be better than Dori's endless fussing about her health. His words may even be true – because yes, she was injured; the stinging in her shoulder was a rather painful reminder of that fact – but sitting here whining about it would not do her or the company any favours.

'Bombur, let go,' she said, no ordered. For just a second she did sound like Thorin, she supposed. He could conjure up a tone of voice just as icy and commanding as the one she was using now. But her command was not truly directed at the fat grieving dwarf. 'And knock it off, Dori. I can stand up for myself should the need arise.'

Her brother didn't like it. She didn't need to hear him say it to know that. 'Kate, you're still injured.' He used words to convey the message all the same.

'My arm is,' Kate agreed. 'My legs are not.' She had twisted her ankle sometime during the fight, even if she had no recollection of the event, but that didn't count as injured. She could work around that. It took some effort, but she could at least hop around.

Dori looked a little flustered. 'Then at least wait until I can come with you!' Her eldest brother was currently being treated by Óin for some nasty burns on his legs and it was clear that he would not be allowed to stand up before Óin was fully satisfied.

'I'll be fine,' Kate told him. Bombur had done as she asked and with some difficulty Kate tried to get back to her feet. She was in danger of falling right back on her bum when a hand grabbed her arm and steadied her. Maybe she should not have been surprised to find that the hand belonged to Thorin.

The dwarf king helped her find her feet and then slipped his left arm around Kate's waist to support her. Kate could feel the eyes of the company on them and remembered just a little too late that for certain people this kind gesture symbolised something else entirely. But how could they even think of things like that in the present situation? They had lost a member of their company, a friend, even if it was not all that easy to communicate with him. Bifur had been one of them and now he was gone. And that was a shame, and also very much her fault. But no, instead of blaming her, they were speculating about her love life again. It made Kate want to scream and give them all a good kick in the behind.

Dori too was not pleased, of course for entirely different reasons. He was practically oozing disapproval and was apparently trying to stare Thorin into letting go of his little sister. Kate didn't know what had brought this on, but it sure did annoy her.

Fortunately for her Thorin was not the type to simply be stared into obeying, not even by Dori. 'I will take good care of your sister,' he told him in a calm but stern voice, effectively smothering any protest Dori might have uttered.

To be honest he did not really wait for an answer either. He turned them around and guided Kate out of the shelter. Dwalin was leading, but he fell into step with them once they were out of earshot.

'Where are we going?' Kate did have her suspicions, but she did not see how that would be in any way helpful to them. And Dwalin had still not confirmed it. And of course while she had been busy trying to convince Dori that she was all right and could handle this, whatever this may be, without trouble, it had quite slipped her mind, because she had been too preoccupied getting away from his bloody fussing. But in a way she was grateful for all that fussing. It showed that he truly cared about her, which did give her a warm and pleasant feeling inside. But first and foremost it distracted her from her own thoughts and that, in the given circumstances, was like a gift from heaven. One day she might tell Dori that, but for now she would just keep it to herself. This wasn't the kind of information shared with everyone.

Dwalin pretended he did not hear her. It was an art he had perfected during training whenever Kate was voicing her displeasure with his teaching methods at what might well be called the top of her lungs. He just directed them to what appeared to be a smoking pile. Kate's stomach clenched when she realised what exactly it was that he was showing her.

'Dear God,' she whispered. The nausea kicked in the instant the realisation reached her mind. What on earth did Dwalin think to achieve by showing this to her? What did he think he was doing?

But that could wait. Kate's stomach turned and she doubled over, vomiting. It was the same reaction she'd had in the deeps of Goblin-town when she had seen the attack scene, broken and maimed bodies all dotting the floor as if someone had casually dropped them all over the place. This however was not done casually. This pile had been created by either dwarves or orcs. Kate could not tell and did not care. There were at least five bodies piled up, including their armour and other belongings. Of course they were now all badly burned and not even recognisable anymore. Kate only knew it were orcs because everyone, except one, of their company was still alive. She might not have known it otherwise.

'Not a pleasant sight,' Dwalin agreed. He pretended not to notice the fact that Kate had thrown up not half a meter away from him. Kate preferred that and strangely enough he had been the one to understand why she had reacted as she did in Goblin-town as well. Maybe that warrior did have a softer side hidden somewhere after all. 'Come on, lass.'

'You want to show me a pile of burned bodies?' Kate could scarcely keep the incredulous tone out of her voice. 'Well, if that's the case, you just did it. Can we go now?' She didn't know what Dwalin thought to achieve by doing this, but she did know that for some reason it scared her. She had thought he was taking her to Bifur's remains, maybe so that she could pay her respects, see that he was really gone, apologise for doing what she had done. This came unexpected and she could not say that she appreciated it. Not at all.

Dwalin shook his head. 'Come over here.' If he was impressed by her anger at all, he certainly did not show it. But it would be safer to say that he was not impressed at all. That wasn't like him after all.

Thorin had kept quiet since he had spoken to Dori. That was unnerving, but a quick sideward glance taught Kate that he had retreated into his own world. Still, he steered her in the right direction, so either he already knew where they were going or he was not as absent-minded as he appeared.

The dwarf king led her around the pile of bodies to a single body lying next to it. This body was badly burned. Clothes and hair had long since gone and the body itself was falling apart, blackened by the fire from top to toe. Still the flames had not been that fierce on this patch of road and they had not succeeded in turning this body, or the bodies on the pile for that matter, to ash entirely.

Still, there was no way the body could be identified, yet Kate strongly suspected that this was Bifur, but how they had reached that conclusion was anyone's guess. The state this body was in made it uncertain that this even was a dwarf and not an orc.

'It's him, isn't it?' She hated that she had seemingly lost the ability to speak in anything louder than a whisper.

Dwalin nodded. 'Aye.'

Kate forced herself to look again. At first she had averted her eyes as soon as she could, but if she was responsible for Bifur's death, then she owed it to him to at the very least face the consequence of her actions. She had done this by ordering Bilbo to set the forest aflame. Running away from what she had done was the coward's way out and she was not a coward, not anymore.

A second look taught her that there was a reason the search party had rightly assumed that this was Bifur. The body may be maimed by fire beyond recognition, but this corpse still had an axe embedded in his forehead. And that left no room for doubts. This was Bifur.

It was only then that something else started to register in Kate's mind. The leftover from the axe that had been smashed into Bifur's skull many years ago, was not the only thing residing in his head. There was another axe as well. The handle, probably made of wood, had burned away, but the steel itself had survived the inferno. And that steel was embedded so deeply in the head that it could not have been possible for the owner of said head to survive that blow.

The realisation of what this meant only slowly started seeping into Kate's mind. Bifur had died in battle. It had not been the flames that had ended him. And this put a new meaning to the pile of bodies that had made her throw up. Those were the ones Bifur had killed before some orc had ended him. The dwarf had fought until his dying breath. The flames had only reached him when he had already breathed his last.

It was no less devastating that he had died, but for Kate it felt like some great weight had suddenly been lifted from her shoulders. The relief washed over her in waves and she drowned in the feeling. She wanted to laugh until she could no longer breathe, she wanted to weep until all the tears had run out. This wasn't her fault. The flames had only taken the lives of orcs. Her stupidity had not cost anyone their lives. Kate found that her knees could no longer carry her. She fell to the ground and wept.

**Thorin**

The night was quiet, but not as dark as it had been while they were still in the forest itself. Technically they were of course still within the boundaries of the woods, but thanks to the advisor's plan there no longer were any trees to block the light that came from moon and stars. Thorin was grateful for it. While he was a dwarf, by all rights belonging to a race that preferred to spend their lives underground and away from the light of day, he had not lived below the surface for many years, always on the road, looking for work. He had come to appreciate daylight then. It did not make him any less of a dwarf. To him it felt like an advantage that he was at home both above as below the ground. It was a natural result of their long exile.

The company was asleep, lying close together for warmth, since a campfire was out of the question. Fíli had joked that Kate had made sure that there was a shortage of useable firewood all around. At first Thorin had been about to slap that comment down, but he found that it lightened the mood, just a little. There had been some chuckling and even Bombur had cracked a watery smile, while Kate had rolled her eyes at the joker. Thorin had kept his mouth shut.

He would not have allowed the use of a fire even if there had been wood though. They were out in the open, noticeable, and the forest fire was bound to have drawn some attention. The dwarf king could only hope that it had been the elves who had seen it and not the current resident of Dol Guldur. An encounter with elves was not something he found himself looking forward to, but it was preferable over a meeting with the Necromancer.

The best he could hope for was that the elves had believed everyone to have perished in the inferno. That would mean they would not go and look for survivors… or culprits. It would be even more difficult from now on to try and pass unnoticed. The best he could currently hope for was to follow the Men-i-Naugrim – the name Old Forest Road seemed irrelevant now since there no longer was any forest within a forty mile radius at the very least – and disappear back into the woods as quickly as they could, so that they at least were concealed from sight again. And from there it would be best if they travelled to the eastern border of the forest at all speed.

This was not what he had expected when he had decided to use this route to travel by, but it so far had turned out better than he had believed possible that very morning. Azog had gone and that had ended the feud that had been haunting him since Azanulbizar. It had ended and he should be glad of it. And he was, but not the kind of gladness he had expected to feel. It was more relief than joy. It was over. Azog would never haunt him again and if he didn't, then his men would not do so either. They would be divided for a time and that meant that they would not bother anyone else for a while. It had been the same when Azog's father had died. For some time the area around the Mountain had been blessedly free of orcs and their cursed raiding parties. When Azog had been injured at Azanulbizar it had been almost too easy for the dwarves to fight off their enemies. Now that Azog had died, things would be the same. Orcs could only fight when there was a strong leader to unite them and keep them in line.

His lips curled up slightly as he realised that his company had so far been responsible for the death of two enemy leaders: the Great Goblin and Azog the Defiler. It was a strange feeling as well. But with any luck that would mean that the Misty Mountains would be a little less dangerous for travellers than they usually were, at least until the orcs and goblins had chosen new leaders for themselves.

The night was silent. They had stayed at the shelter where most of his men had waited out the crisis. Most of them were in some way injured, but it would probably not hinder their march, even if Óin had kept up a steady supply of complaints that this incident had seriously dented his stocks. But he was not the only one who could pretend not to hear things. Thorin could not bring himself to truly care about his grumbles. To him it mattered that his men were taken care of. He had lost one of them and he would not lose another.

His gaze went to Kate, who had been sandwiched between Dori and Ori. Óin had not been happy with her injury, not at all, and he seemed to blame Thorin for it, if his disapproving stare was anything to go by. Thorin could not even really blame him for thinking like that. If only he had been a little faster, he'd have been able to prevent that blasted orc from slashing Kate's shoulder like he had.

Fortunately the advisor was more or less fine. The wound had been seen to and her left shoulder and upper arm had been smeared in salve, after which they had been bandaged. Kate would need to have her arm in a sling for some days to come, but she would make a full recovery, even if the wounds would scar. Kate had grimaced when she heard that. 'No more T-shirts for me, it would seem,' she had said. She had tried to make it sound flippant, but Thorin could hear she was not very pleased with it.

It was as if she had heard him thinking about her, because she got up in one fluent motion, turned her head in his direction and then walked over to join him. 'You got watch?' She seated herself on the neighbouring rock without as much as a by-your-leave. She probably knew he would not send her away.

Thorin nodded. 'You should be asleep,' he told her sternly.

Kate reacted with a massive yawn. 'I've tried,' she told him. 'But I dare you to sleep with Dori snoring right in your ear.'

Thorin failed to stifle a smirk. 'I see.'

'Do you?' the advisor countered. 'Have you ever tried?' It was the bantering again like they used to do whenever they were a little relaxed, but it somehow sounded forced. There was a full moon in the sky, bathing their environment in a silvery light and Thorin could see that Kate was not meeting his eyes. Instead she was staring into the distance. The dwarf doubted that she saw anything of it though. 'I wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway.' There was a short silence. 'I can see Bifur every time I close my eyes,' she confessed. 'And then I wonder how his last minutes must have been. If he was scared, determined, panicked…'

Thorin could not help but frown. This was very unlike Kate. She didn't share her fears. She had only done so once, when she told him why she had been so desperate to return to her home. After that the mask had slid back in place. She had made the oaths and it was obvious that she believed that when she did that she lost every right to be afraid or to speak about her problems. It had been Thorin doing the sharing ever since then.

And now that Kate did confide in him he didn't know whether to feel honoured that she had come to him instead of her brothers or scared out of his wits because he was incapable of consoling any woman, never mind this one. He settled for the lighter tone of voice. 'Do you see me as a social worker now?' he inquired. Whenever they had a problem, this comment kept slipping in.

Kate snorted. 'If you wish.' That reply was unexpected. Thorin would have thought she would react with a witticism of her own about how she was convinced that Thorin would only be a social worker when the sun set in the east instead of the west, in other words: never at all. That she now chose to tell her fears, her troubles, to him in all seriousness, that said something about how troubled she felt. Still, why had she come to him? Surely she could have talked about this with Dori, who, without any doubt, would have comforted her far better than Thorin could ever have done. But she did not talk about this with Dori. Maybe this was just because they were friends and Dori could fuss worse than ten mother hens put together.

'Why?' The word slipped out before he could check himself.

'Because you understand.' The reply was immediate and finally she did look in his direction. 'And you care, I think.' The last two words were spoken a little hesitantly, as if Kate wasn't sure that Thorin did care.

And she would be right in doing so. A few weeks ago he would not have cared for her problems at all. But that was before they had become friends. He supposed it was only natural that he showed interest in what went on inside that head of hers. But if he was being really honest, he felt honoured. It may be frightening at the same time, but Kate did trust him with whatever it was that haunted her mind. She trusted him that much.

'I do,' he heard himself say.

It was good that they had some light to see by. Now he could see her smile. It didn't quite reach her eyes, but given the circumstances Thorin did not truly blame her for that. He could relate to it. She was too preoccupied with something to be as carefree at the woman he had seen glimpses of from time to time. He frowned as he realised that was a side of Kate he wouldn't mind seeing more often.

'I know,' Kate said. 'Does it get any easier?' The hesitance was back in her voice now. 'Losing a friend like that?'

Thorin recalled Frerin, his father, his grandfather, his mother. He shook his head. 'It does not get easier,' he told her. 'You'll learn to cope.' But this would haunt her dreams for at least some time to come, he knew. And maybe the nightmares would never really stop. But that too was something she would have to learn to deal with in order not to lose her mind over this. It wasn't easily done, but it was necessary. 'Kate, look at me.'

The advisor had resumed her study of her boots, but at his command she lifted her head. 'What is it?'

'It wasn't your fault,' he told her almost sternly. 'None of this.'

Kate hesitated for a moment, but then she gave a curt, tentative nod, confirming to the dwarf king that for once he had read her right. That must be a first. 'I know,' the advisor replied softly. 'I mean, with my mind I know.' She looked at her hands. 'It doesn't make my plan any less foolish, though. Something could have gone wrong so easily. I might have condemned us all to death. I don't even know what the hell I thought I was doing.' Thorin thought he heard tears in her voice, but he ignored it. Friends they may be, but Mahal help him when she began to cry. He just did not know what to do with crying females, as Dís never failed to remind him.

'Dwalin reported that more than a dozen orcs burned to death,' he told her brusquely. Comforting people may not be his forte, but he did know what to do with facts. 'That fire ended the fight. It would not have ended so well had their numbers not been greatly reduced.'

Kate looked up again. 'Are you actually saying I did the right thing?' In any other circumstance those words would have been accompanied by the most sarcastic and teasing tone she could muster. Now it was a plea, a desperate plea from someone who had to hear they had done something right in order to start believing it for themselves.

'Aye,' he replied. In one way Kate was right; it had been a hare-brained scheme. It had been a desperate scheme as well. But in the end it had saved lives. Dwarves were not as easily affected by the smoke as Men and Hobbits were – a conclusion drawn from the fact that the company burglar had apparently passed out fairly quickly – and they were made to endure. Thorin's people had great strength of mind and body, something this woman did not seem to be fully aware of, if she was aware of it at all. The dwarves had never been in as much danger as the advisor and burglar had been. Ironically Kate had been the one in the worst peril, something that had quite passed her by, it would seem.

And he stood by what he said. It wasn't the best of plans, and there were many things that could have gone very wrong, but in the end it had won them the fight. If there had been time for it, she would have been honoured. As it was, this was no time for celebrations and Thorin doubted she would welcome them even if it was the time, not while she believed that she had done wrong.

'You mean that?' Kate asked incredulously.

Thorin nodded. 'Aye, I do.'

A hesitant smile formed on her face. 'Thank you.' Only a fool would miss out on the genuine gratefulness the woman expressed. 'You have no idea what that means to me.' Except that he did know. It felt like a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders. Thorin had experienced the feeling himself so many times he had lost count, especially when he had first been burdened with the task of leading his people. Mahal knew it had not been easy and he had been doubting himself at every turn, wondering if what he did was really the best thing to do after all. Balin had mostly been the one to reassure him and Dís had done a fair share of reassuring as well and, as she herself never tired of saying, doing a much better job of it than her brother ever could.

He gave a curt nod, not yet ready to share with her that he knew exactly what she felt like because he had personal experience with it. Their friendship may be growing stronger with every passing day, but this was something he didn't share with anyone, save for Balin and Dwalin perhaps. The habit to keep up the image of a strong and decisive leader was a difficult one to break and Thorin was not sure he wanted to break it at all. He needed it to keep his men going, especially in this hard time. Besides, most of them were rather impressed with him killing the Defiler. Now was not the time to show weakness.

Kate pondered this for a while, eyes firmly on the ground again, a little frown in her forehead. 'What did happen back there?' she suddenly asked. 'With Azog,' she clarified when Thorin threw her a confused look.

'Did you not hear the tale?' he asked curtly. Thorin had not told everything, he admitted. He had left out Azog's taunts and threats. He had merely relayed that part of the tale which ended up with Azog more or less jumping right on his blade.

Kate fixed him with as stern as stare as she could muster, reminding Thorin a lot of Dori in that particular moment. In times like these it was hard to remember that they weren't actually blood relatives. 'What _really_ happened?' the advisor demanded. 'You told me you had somehow learned that Fíli and Kíli had died and I don't think it was a little bird telling you.' She waited a moment, but when Thorin did not answer she added: 'More like the big bad monster, if I'm right.'

And she was right, although the dwarf king was not in the mood to go and confirm her suspicions. He tried to forget that horrible fight and what had passed before it. It was bad enough he could relive it all if he only closed his eyes. The jabs and taunts had gotten right under his skin, making him experience a pain so fierce as had had not felt since Azanulbizar. And it was irrelevant now. The Defiler was dead and he had died with a lie on his lips. Thorin knew he should not take this as seriously as he had, but it wasn't easy to forget what had happened, if he could forget at all and that was something he rather doubted.

He had known there was a distinct possibility of his sister-sons not surviving this quest, which was perhaps the very reason why he had believed it when Azog had boasted about killing them. But there was something else as well and Thorin could not even say exactly what it was. There had been something, just before Azog had begun to rub Thorin's nose in the supposed demise of Fíli and Kíli.

It took him a moment to remember. _I can't let her live of course_._ She could be carrying your child even as we speak_. That was what the Defiler had said whilst looking at Kate and for a moment, just a split second, Thorin had not thought of the absurdity of the idea. Instead he had been overcome with a burning fury, a strong determination not to let anyone harm Kate.

It was obvious that Azog had believed the advisor to be his wife and Thorin might have confirmed that by looking back at her the way he had done. He had acted like he was her lover, he realised. He would not have made such a mistake if anyone else was involved. And still, it was only friendship that was between them, was it? All of a sudden, he was no longer certain what they were to one another.

'Thorin?' Kate urged softly, bringing him back to the here and now. 'Did I say something wrong?'

The dwarf shook his head. 'You did not.' He took a deep breath and then answered her earlier question. If Kate had found it in herself to trust him, he could trust her. 'The Defiler made some comments about my sister-sons to enrage me.' He hesitated for a moment. 'And about you. I tricked him into attacking me and I killed him.'

The advisor wasn't a fool, no matter what Thorin may have thought when they had first met. She frowned. She knew Thorin wasn't telling her everything, but she didn't urge him into telling her all of it. Thorin knew he would not tell her everything anyway. For some reason he knew he could not share the threat Azog had made about the woman, not when his own reaction to it did not make sense at all.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _He's holding out on me. I don't know what it is, but it's bloody annoying and I can't for the life of me tell why he won't tell me. Honestly, what kind of things could Azog have said about me as to make Thorin so taciturn?_

* * *

**So, I hoped you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry, this is, as you may have realised, not an everybody lives AU. I just don't think it's realistic that everyone survives such a fight. **

**On another, and happier, note, the first chapter of my outtake stories for The Journal, Duly Noted, is now up. So many of you have been asking for one-shots about Thorin, Kate and their kids and I couldn't resist writing it when I had a few hours left. So, if you've got a minute, please take a look.**

**Next time the company will find out that their little forest fire has not exactly gone unnoticed. And that chapter will be up Wednesday, since I'm back to my normal update scheme.**

**Please review?**


	43. Chapter 43 Caught

**Chapter 43**

**Caught**

_Thorin had gone back to being his stubborn oyster self. There was not a single thing he said after that, but I was not entirely sure that this had something to do with me, or something I had said. He was just deep in thought, retreating into some world of his own. I won't pretend that it didn't hurt though that he shut me out. Over the past few weeks I had become used to sharing problems, hopes and stories and it was only when I was denied this that I realised how much I had come to appreciate it. And it confused me. _

_Oh dears, you must think us a couple of blind idiots. The rest of the company could see clearly where we were headed, but Thorin and I remained blissfully unaware and perfectly confused as to why the other suddenly had become so important to us. Well, you know the saying that love is blind and I fear that defined us rather well at that point in time. It just needed a little more time before we would both see sense. _

_That time however was not that day. Everyone was subdued after Bifur's demise and the heavy attack we had had only survived by the skin of our teeth. It was a small miracle that we had not lost any more than we had. This did nothing to cheer us up though. And literally we may have been out of the wood for a while, figuratively speaking we were nowhere near the exit yet. The fire was in hindsight a good way to get rid of our enemies. There was however the minor drawback that no one in a hundred mile radius could have overlooked this inferno. We must have been drawing some attention and most of it was bound to be very unwelcome. The resident of Dol Guldur would surely be interested and the same could be said for the elves in the north. Both those parties would probably send a few scouts to investigate the matter. Speaking of getting trapped between a rock and a hard place. _

_We did however have a small window of time left and we were determined to make use of it. With any luck we would be able to slip back into the cover of the woods before we would be noticed. That was going to be a challenge, because now there were no more trees in this scorched wasteland – even if it was still an improvement in my opinion – we were painfully exposed and with quite a few of us injured, we weren't moving as fast as we all would have liked. I myself was hopping along like a rabbit with a serious limp and I was forced by both Óin and Dori to keep my left arm in that sling, meaning that I could not carry any luggage. In truth, I felt as much of a burden as I had felt when I had first joined the company. _

_And the fact that we were forced to spend another night under the moon and stars did not make things any better. We slept for a few hours and then moved on by moonlight in order to get to the cover the forest would provide us with, because none of us felt exactly at ease out in the open and the sooner we were back in the forest, the better it would be…_

**Thorin**

The night was silent. They may be out of the stifling woods of Mirkwood, but it didn't mean that this was necessarily any better than being in that forest. They were too exposed here. Anyone with eyes could see them and the sooner they had crossed the borders of this land, the better Thorin would feel. This place, burned or not, made his skin crawl and woke the urge to look over his shoulder every other minute.

And the silence was getting to him as well. It had been doing that before as well, but somehow the dwarf had expected that there would be sounds of life as soon as the trees had gone. That had not happened. The night was as silent as before. There were no birds, no animals and because the company was trying to pass unnoticed, there were not much sounds coming from them either. Thorin had not forbidden it and there were a few hushed conversations taking place behind him, but it wasn't very much. Most of his men were too uncomfortable to talk. Thorin couldn't blame them.

'All rather doom and gloom around here.' It was as if the advisor had heard his thoughts and had decided to break the silence. She had been walking next to Bofur and Bombur, but now fell into step beside him. 'I mean, I understand, but…' Her voice trailed off.

'You like sound better than silence,' Thorin concluded.

Kate shrugged. 'I suppose,' she said. 'But really, I think I just would like anything better than having far too much time to _think_.' She spoke the last word as if it was some contagious disease. 'I just can't seem to turn my mind off, or at any rate think of something less depressing than what happened there.' She sounded it, depressed. Thorin realised that it did not suit her, not at all. Kate could be anything, from teasing to downright furious, but depressed was something that for some reason unnerved him.

'Am I the social worker again?' he inquired, trying to go for a lighter voice.

Kate snorted. 'No, thanks. Actually, that's the last thing I want right now. Don't worry, at the moment I can analyse my own state of mind rather bloody well.' The last sentence came out as a soft mutter under her breath. 'I just came to chat, if you don't mind.'

Thorin's eyebrows were halfway his forehead before he could even begin to stop them. 'I am a distraction?' He had been many things during his life, but distraction was not one of them.

She, on the other hand, had proven to be a distraction for him more than once. It was a positive one on many occasions, that he would admit. Thorin had never even believed it possible to joke and to laugh as carelessly as he had done on several occasions since they had become friends. He could not even remember when he had last laughed for real before Kate barged into his world and turned it positively upside down, as she would phrase it. There were too many responsibilities resting on his shoulders that he at times could not even remember how to laugh or even smile. Too much had happened to him and laughter had died a long time ago, supposedly along with his family. Yet when he was near Kate he found himself doing and saying things he'd never imagined himself doing or saying. A few days ago he had even found himself joking about Smaug's lack of talent when it came to household duties.

And he welcomed the distraction. It did not mean that the quest was any less important to him, because it was still very important to him, more than anything. But thinking about it from dawn till dusk would not help him or anyone. The woman was a good kind of distraction, helping him to remember that not everything was as serious as he would like to think.

But at times she was a dangerous kind of distraction as well. She had been one only recently, when he was about to take on Azog and he had looked back at her to reassure himself that she was still breathing. _I can't let her live of course_._ She could be carrying your child even as we speak_. Because he had been so distracted, he had gambled with both their lives, not just his. That distraction had made Kate a target, although now it did no longer matter. Azog was dead. Thorin had seen the burned corpse. He had gone back to check, just to make sure that the monster was truly dead this time.

But Thorin had more enemies than just Azog. The dwarf king had no doubts about Thranduil, the king whose realm they had recently burned a considerable amount of. He was bound not to like that, but even without that provocation the elf was a danger, a risk. And Kate's association with him was not healthy for either of them. If he knew Kate at all she was not going to stand by and let Thranduil take her friends prisoner, even if she by some miracle would not be included in the company, at least in the elves' eyes. And Thorin was oath bound to protect her. Things could get very ugly. _Best not to get caught then_. The voice in his head sounded remarkably like the advisor, both in tone and words.

It might be dangerous to be so close to the woman, not for him – he could hold his own – but for her. But she knew that, knew it and had dismissed the notion with just one casual remark of how she was going to be in danger anyway.

A hand waved in front of his face brought him back to the present. 'Are you even listening to me?' There was annoyance and some worry to be heard in her voice.

'Yes.' He fixed her with as stern a stare as he could manage, although he wasn't sure how much good it did with so little light available. Kate was human after all and she could not see as well as he could in the dark.

'Then what did I say?' she challenged, clearly not believing it.

And she would be right to think so, because Thorin could not recall a single thing she might have said after she had announced that she had just come to chat. He wasn't even aware that she had been talking and that was an altogether dangerous development. He was used to knowing what was going on around him, to notice every detail. It was a warrior's instinct and it had saved his life countless times. It was not like him to be slacking so much.

Kate took his silence as an answer. 'Thought not,' she concluded. Her face was a study in disapproval. 'Thorin, I have no idea what has gotten into you, but I don't like it.' She threw her hands into the air in exasperation, wincing as she realised that her left arm did not appreciate that treatment. 'I thought we were friends, but ever since that attack, you've been shutting me out. What the hell is going on, Thorin Oakenshield? I know you don't owe me answers, since you're the sodding king who's answerable to absolutely no one, but we're friends and I would bloody well appreciate it if you didn't give me the silent treatment!' Her voice was steadily building up to a shout.

There was a short, very uncomfortable silence and Thorin realised that conversation, little as it was, had dried up completely. The company had come to a halt and was listening in what appeared to be shock to Kate giving him a piece of her mind.

'I win.' The silence was broken by Nori. 'Pay up, Kíli.'

Kíli moaned as he threw some coins over at Kate's brother. 'How did you know?'

Nori shrugged, wholly unconcerned. 'I know my sister and…'

He didn't get any further. Kate had rounded on him, grabbing him by the collar with her right hand. 'What the hell?' It was more of a growl than a question. 'What the bloody hell is that all about?'

Thorin knew what this was. This was Kate being dangerously close to the edge. He had seen it before. After they had escaped Goblin-town she had flown off the handle as well. The same had happened after their lucky rescue by the eagles. At first there was the relief after a dangerous situation and in such cases she was more prone to show weakness, show vulnerability. Eventually though the relief would make way for frustration, fear of some kind. The dwarf was not even close to finding out what caused it, but he suspected that exhaustion was one of the main culprits. He didn't know what kept Kate going at the moment, but she was injured and tired after the ordeal, and in a way she may still be blaming herself for Bifur's death and the fear they had all gone through. That did not make for a good combination and now that she learned that Nori and Kíli had been betting about her, she snapped.

'Kate, you're injured,' Nori reminded her. He at least seemed to realise that he was in something of a tight spot. He was already glancing over his shoulder in search of an escape route. 'You'll make it worse. Ask Óin.'

But Kate was not that easily distracted, as Thorin could have told the other dwarf in advance. 'What. Did. You. Just. Do.' The demand came out from between clenched teeth. Yes, Kate may be exhausted, but it tended to show in bursts of anger and if Nori truly knew his sister so well, as he had only just claimed to do, then he should have known better than to try and avoid the question. The advisor was on the warpath.

He decided to step in, lying a hand on Kate's uninjured shoulder. 'Kate, that's enough.' He summoned up his most commanding tone. It would not make her obey, but it would make her pay attention and he would be grateful for that, he would not deny.

She turned to him now, as expected. 'Doesn't this bother you?' she demanded.

It did. But right now Kate's behaviour bothered him more. 'We will talk about this later,' he informed the thief and his sister-son. 'Move on.' His hand, still resting on Kate's shoulder, prevented her from doing the same. 'Wait,' he informed her softly. It was time this came to an end and although he'd much rather they could sit down to discuss this, there was no time. It needed to be discussed now.

Dori eyed them warily. 'Thorin, would it not be better if I were to…'

Thorin did not give him a chance to finish. 'The command included you,' he told the advisor's eldest brother. 'Miss Andrews will be safe in my company.'

'For heaven's sake,' Kate growled. 'Stop talking about me as if I'm not there! Dori, I'm fine. Really. Just… just go.' The last sentence sounded more weary than angry, confirming Thorin's suspicions about Kate being more tired than anything else. He could not help but feel pleased with his newfound ability to guess the advisor's motives. If only that would help her to calm down somewhat, but he was unlikely to get lucky there.

Dori at least seemed to understand that staying and keeping an eye on his youngest sibling was not going to do him any good, so with a last stern look at Thorin he took his leave. Not that he needed words to convey the message that he would cheerfully rip Thorin to pieces should he do anything that might harm the advisor. Thorin might be the king, but family took precedence over any other loyalty he had. And that was as it should be. If only Thorin could make him understand that Kate was not in any danger, definitely not from him.

'What is going on with you?' Thorin had been meaning to ask the very same question, or something very close to it, but Kate beat him to it. She didn't even wait till her brother was out of earshot. 'Thorin, I'm sorry if I crossed the line just now, but I just need to know what on earth caused you to act like this. Is it something I said, something I did?'

Was she blaming this on herself? Apparently he did not know her as well as he thought he did. That was not at all like the woman he had come to know over the last few months. Now there was a strange notion. For some reason it felt like he had known Kate Andrews for far longer, almost all his life. Thorin could not even remember when he had grown so close to someone in such a short amount of time. It was both a comfort and at the same time it was frightening him almost worse than Azog.

'You think this is your fault?' He tried to sound chastising, but was rather afraid it was more incredulous than anything else.

'Isn't it?' Kate shot back. There was still enough anger left to make for a rather snappy tone of voice. 'What else was I supposed to think? We had a conversation back at the shelter and all of a sudden you have that brooding glance and you're not saying a word anymore. Please enlighten me what other conclusion I was supposed to have reached, because it is honestly far beyond me.' By the end of her speech it was the sarcasm that ruled her voice.

'I needed to think,' he replied, knowing that this did not make for a satisfactory answer, but he would not, could not give her any more without betraying his own fears and doubts. And he could not share them with her, not when she was carrying so much fear and guilt around herself.

There was a short silence. A frown crept unto Kate's forehead. 'It's something Azog said.' Her face lit up with the realisation. 'I asked about what had happened there and you replied that he had been making some remarks about Fíli and Kíli and… me.' The understanding started to dawn for real now, even if it did seem to confuse her at the same time. 'That's it. What the hell did Azog say about me?'

She was sharp, Thorin would admit. He had not ever doubted this. With her quick jabs and witticisms it was unmistakable that the company advisor was intelligent, but right now he wished that she wasn't so clever. Because he would share a lot with her, but the thing Azog said, he could never repeat. It would be too embarrassing for both of them. _She could be carrying your child even as we speak_. And Thorin still did not quite know what to make of his own reaction to this threat, but he was bound not to like it, because he didn't liked what it said about him. Azog's claim was still beyond ridiculous, but his actions, and maybe Kate's as well, said something else.

'He was threatening to kill you,' Thorin replied. It was the truth, even if it wasn't all of it.

'Naturally.' He still had the uncomfortable idea that the woman was not fooled. She knew he was still holding out on her. Her next question only proved it. 'What else? This was not all of it. There's something else or you would not have been so badly shaken.' When no reply was forthcoming, the anger kicked back in again. 'Bloody hell, Thorin, stop doing that! I'm your friend. Do you really think I would cheerfully go and shout it from the rooftops for everyone to hear? I'm trying to help. If only you'd let me.' The last bit was spoken while the advisor stared at the point of her boots, clearly embarrassed that she had even offered this.

And to be quite honest, he did not know what to do with the offer she'd made. He did however recognise a cry from the heart when he happened upon one of them. But that did not make any sense either. Why did Kate care so much and why had she been so frustrated when he, what she called, shut her out? The dwarf king felt like there were things going on around him that he did not understand and that frightened him worse than he would ever let on.

'He told me that he could not take the risk to let you live.' Honesty might be the best course now. They had agreed to be allies and they had agreed to be friends. It was a risk worth taking.

This she did not understand. 'Why not? What risk did he mean?'

'He feared that you might be pregnant.' He had decided on telling Kate the truth, but he could not bring himself to repeat the exact words. There was something very strange about saying _my child_ in relation to a child of Kate's. Odd, but strangely enough it did not feel as wrong as it would have done some months ago. He squashed the notion the moment it popped up in his head. He did not want to go there. 'And he had sworn to wipe out every descendant of Thrór's,' he added for good measure.

There was a strange expression on Kate's face, but before he could even begin to make sense of it, it was gone again, making way for a dismissive scowl. 'Good grief, that guy really was an idiot.'

Thorin decided not to argue the point. It was one thing to tell Kate what it was that Azog had said, but it was quite another to share his own suspicions about the subject. The Defiler had not been a fool. In fact, Thorin had believed him to be highly intelligent. Even the elves had been fooled into thinking that there was a relationship when there was none. Before now he had dismissed the very idea without giving it as much as a second thought, but if he looked, _really_ looked, at his own actions and hers, then he would need to admit that they had succeeded in giving off the wrong impression. Even their own companions believed it, because the dwarf was convinced that the bet had something to do with him, the advisor and their supposed relationship. Only Thorin and Kate knew there were other explanations for the things they had done and said and even he now started to doubt his own motivations. It could not be, could it?

But he at least recognised an opportunity when he saw one and at the moment Kate was too much distracted by Azog's assumed stupidity to ask Thorin why he had needed to do so much thinking about it or why he had been so affected by it. He would make use of that. 'I need to ask you to reconsider the story we have agreed to tell the elves,' he told her.

The advisor had clearly been thinking about something else entirely, if her vacant expression was anything to go by. 'I'm sorry, what?'

Thorin did not think she had not actually heard him, but he repeated his idea nonetheless.

The irritated 'Yes, I did hear you the first time' told him he had at least been right in that assumption. 'What I don't know is why. It's a good story and I don't think anyone will question it too much. No one seems to have done so before now, so I'd say it's a perfectly good cover.' And it had been, Thorin knew. It had been their cover before they had even realised that it was a cover, back in Rivendell. Even when they had still been at each other's throats three times a day, supposedly highly intelligent creatures like the elves had come to the conclusion that Thorin and Kate were married, never mind the fact that such a thing had not been known to happen before.

'Have you not realised that your association with me might put you in danger, Kate?' It must have crossed her mind, especially so shortly after he had told her about what Azog had said. The fact that she was close to Thorin had put her at risk more than the dwarf was comfortable with. He only needed to conjure up the memory of her motionless and very injured body in the shelter and Azog looking at her as if she was his next meal. The closer she was to him, the more danger she would be in.

The only response he got was a weary sigh though. 'I thought we had gone over this,' she said. 'We're all in danger anyway and each and every member of this company is, as you call it, associated with you. I don't hear you making suggestions like this to them either.'

'This is different,' Thorin tried to explain.

He knew this had been the wrong thing to say the moment Kate's face started to resemble an overripe tomato. 'No, it isn't,' she disagreed in a snarl. 'This is just you trying to play my bloody bodyguard again. Well, I'm sorry, but I've got Dori to do the worrying about my health and safety quite enough, thank you very much. And, for your information, he's doing a good job of that on his own. I don't need you to fuss about me as well.' The anger was still very close to the surface. 'Besides, had we not agreed, sometime back in Rivendell, that you do a lot of things, but you certainly do not fuss?'

Thorin did remember that conversation, when he had tried to help her walk into the elven kingdom and the elves had serenaded them. They had done a lot of bickering then, but in a way it had helped them both to cope with the situation and looking back on it, he found that it was a fond memory.

'You do not understand the danger you are in,' he still felt obliged to point out.

'In danger of Thranduil being an idiot and a bastard?' Kate raised an eyebrow. 'Listen, Thorin, I'm tired of the whole special she's-the-delicate-female-treatment. I'm just another member of your company who just so happens to be a woman. I'm not made out of porcelain and I'm not dropping dead when some elf decides to be annoying.'

That was what this was all about, was it not? She wanted to be normal, or as normal as she could be in a company of dwarves who all believed it their responsibility to care for women, no matter what race they were from – elves of course excluded. Thorin found he could understand that. His resolve wavered.

Kate seemed to sense that. The expression on her face was triumphant as she went in for the kill. 'Besides, if we're not sticking to that story, what then were you planning to tell the elves?'

The dwarf hated the fact that she had a point. There was nothing else they could really tell the elves, because the truth was not an option. She was right. There was very little choice at all. 'Make sure you stay close to me,' he told her, not yet ready to admit that she was in fact right. 'I swore an oath to protect you and I will not have your stubbornness keep me from keeping my word.'

He turned around and walked away, knowing that Kate would follow anyway. That was the whole quest in a nutshell, come to think of it. No matter how hard he tried to get rid of the woman, she kept tagging along. Thorin found he wasn't as opposed to the idea as he had been.

**Kate**

The first rays of sunshine were already creeping over the horizon by the time they reached the borders of the forest. For some reason the fire had suddenly stopped here. Kate could not for the life of her find an explanation for that phenomenon. One minute they were walking in the burned wasteland and the next the trees rose up before them, seemingly untouched by the fire. Something was very disturbing about that.

There were more people in the company who seemed uncomfortable with it all. Dwalin looked downright suspicious. 'Something's not right here,' he grumbled.

Even the company burglar looked ill at ease. 'But the fire can't just have gone out like that, can it?' he asked of no one in particular. 'It doesn't happen all of a sudden?' Because of the hobbit's uncertainty it came out as a question rather than a statement.

'No, I think it doesn't,' Kate muttered, staring intensely at the trees as if the answer to her question was somewhere in those looming branches. Of course, she had no such luck. Instead she marched over to Thorin. 'I don't trust this,' she said bluntly. 'Something is not right here.' She might be echoing Dwalin, but it was what she felt as well.

'I know.' The response was calm. Thorin may have been worrying himself to death only hours ago – over her safety no less – but he was firmly back in control now. 'But what would you suggest we do, Kate?' He may appear calm, but he sounded weary. Maybe it was just the result of the very long march without sleep, but Kate thought it more likely that it was the consequence of having so much responsibility. 'But what can I do? Turn around now?'

Kate shook her head. 'Of course not. It just unnerves me. Fire doesn't extinguish so quickly, so suddenly, does it? It looks like it happened from one moment to the next.' She hesitated a moment before she voiced her next thought. 'Almost as if there was magic involved.'

Thorin's head swivelled in her direction. 'Do you think Gandalf is involved?'

Kate shrugged. 'I don't know what I think. I just know that there is something not natural about it and I don't trust it, but I agree with you. We can't exactly turn back.' She sighed and stared at the trees as if they could reveal their secrets if she only stared hard enough. 'I don't bloody like it!' she growled. 'I wish…' She hesitated. 'Oh, screw it, I don't know what I wish.'

She felt uneasy, jumpy even. The worst thing was that she could not even quite determine why. Of course it was strange that the fire had gone out so quickly, so abruptly, and the mere thought of going into that wood again made her shiver in what she suspected was fear. Thorin had better be right about his assumption that they would need a week at most to get to the other side. Going in there, living in a constant twilight, and the utter darkness at night, it was a most unwelcome idea. But they needed to push through, because going back was not an option at all.

'Do you think we will see spiders?' Thorin asked.

Kate conjured up the mental picture of the map, trying to decide whether they had already passed the dangerous part. 'There were spiders drawn into the map about halfway through Mirkwood,' she said hesitantly. 'And you said we are more than halfway through.' Kate glanced over her shoulder back to the wasteland. 'I think we might have gotten lucky just this once. They might have burned to cinders in that inferno.'

Thorin cracked something that with some imagination might just pass for a smile. 'The fire has done more good than I anticipated,' he remarked. 'A silver lining, you'd call it.'

Kate could feel the corners of her mouth curl up involuntary. 'A silver lining indeed. Now all we have to do is to avoid some elves and then some bloody dragon is all we'll have to concern ourselves with. That's got to be child's play after this inferno. If anything, we know how to handle fire now.' This was strange, this joking when the situation was so serious, but the moment they started it, Kate could feel the nerves and fear retreating to the back of her head. Her breathing slowed and the same was true for her heart. Strangely enough it was only Thorin who seemed to have such an effect on her. Had it been Nori or Fíli or anyone, she would have flown off the handle for making fun of the situation like that.

There was a twinkle in Thorin's eyes that she had only seen a handful of times before this day, but always when they were doing this. For some reason the dwarf seemed to enjoy this as much as Kate did. 'Aye,' he said. 'Just hide until it burns itself out. We just need to determine how to work that strategy on Smaug.'

Kate chuckled. 'Yes, you're right,' she admitted. 'That won't work at all. Bugger. What a shame. We'll have to work out something else then. Surely we can manage that?'

'We need to get out of this forest first.' Thorin eyed the trees with barely concealed suspicion and Kate could hardly fault him for that. She was not at ease here herself. And to her facing a dragon felt like child's play after the orc attack. No doubt she would swallow her words again when they were facing the actual dragon, but that was something for later. 'Move on!'

'Right you are,' the advisor muttered as she fell into step next to the king at the head of the column. If the state of her arm was anything to go by, that was going to be difficult enough. It hurt and it was itching too, but she knew better than to say anything about it. Heaven knew her friends were already fussing worse than any doctor or her mother could manage. And it could all have turned out a whole lot worse. Bifur was a prime example of just how badly things could turn out and as long as she wasn't dying, she wasn't complaining.

Or at least, she wasn't complaining where anyone could hear her. Because this did not mean that the wound did not worry her. It did and quite a lot. Oh, she did not fret about the healing. Óin was good at his job and if he said it would heal well, then Kate believed him. It was the scars that concerned her now. They would be ugly beyond the shadow of a doubt and Kate was vain enough to care about that, even if she knew better than to admit it within hearing distance. But she had gotten away with her life and that was more important than her looks.

No, the thing was mainly that she had no idea what she should say to the people at home when they saw the scars. The scar on her face alone would be very difficult to explain. The burn and sword wound would be only more so. And at least she could claim that she had accidentally hurt herself near fire, but it was very unlikely that anyone would believe that she had accidentally hurt herself on a blade, especially in that place. She would need to come up with some form of plausible explanation, but fortunately she would still have some months to think about that one.

Strange really how she had come to look forward to spending more time with this company. Maybe it was because she knew there would be no use in wanting to go back anyway. Maybe that was why she had allowed herself to let these people take up residence in her heart. Maybe that was why she found herself going on for days without sparing home more than a second's thought.

At the same time it frightened her. Was she truly in danger of forgetting her loved ones? Kate did not like what this said about her, not at all. It frightened her that she was apparently okay with leaving them in fear about what had become of her. Her right hand clenched into a fist – if she did so with her left it hurt like hell. Why, oh why, had life to be so complicated?

'Are you well?' Thorin inquired politely.

Kate threw him a quick reassuring smile. 'Just thinking,' she answered, truthfully in this case. 'And are you trying to be a social worker again?'

Thorin appeared to be wanting to give an answer to that question, but he was stopped from doing so. Kate could not even see how it happened and she would almost say that they had materialised out of thin air. One moment they were walking on the road, bantering a little, even if they were on their guard, the next they found themselves surrounded by elves, whose life ambition it apparently was to show the company the great skill with which their arrows were made, if the close proximity of those to their faces was anything to go by.

Kate found herself backing away and Thorin made use of the opportunity by roughly shoving her behind him, straight into Dori's waiting arms. Just this once the advisor did not protest. She had been startled rather badly and found herself confused how this had come to pass so suddenly. She had never even seen the elves until they were surrounded. Her heart was beating too fast, because even in the confusion of the moment it was all too easy to realise that this was a bad development. There were arrows pointing at them and the elves' faces were not exactly welcoming.

'Who are you?' Thorin did not seem very impressed. He sounded as commanding as ever, but it was mingled with loathing and anger. 'What do you want with us? Answer me!' In this moment it was all too easy to remember that he was a king and that he was used to being obeyed.

'I might ask the same question of you, dwarf.' The elf who had spoken seemed to return the absolute loathing. He was tall, and one of the few not pointing an arrow in one of their faces. Kate suspected him to be the leader of this elven patrol, because that was what it appeared to be. What worried her was that they apparently had known exactly where to look for them.

'I will not answer to someone who meets me with a threat.' The elf was a good deal taller than all of them, but Thorin did not appear to be bothered by it. He met the elf's gaze with pride and disdain.

Kate had known there was a strong dislike between their races. She had seen that for herself in Rivendell, but in that city things had been far more civilised and no one had tried to murder anyone else. But they were now in Mirkwood and the dislike, the _hate _between elf and dwarf was stronger here, far stronger than Kate had even believed possible. And the feeling was mutual too. The elves seemed to hate the dwarves as much as the dwarves hated the elves. And since Kate appeared to be on the receiving end of those sodding arrows, she tended to side with the dwarves.

'Then you will answer to our king.' The elf did not seem bothered at all. 'Bind their hands. Take their weapons.' He almost sounded bored, as if this was some kind of routine job for him. Kate sincerely hoped it was not. The thought of elves taking dwarves prisoners on a daily basis was not a thought she liked to entertain.

At hearing that command they were all backing away, almost on instinct, Kate suspected. She found herself squashed between Thorin and Dori somewhere in the middle of the group. All around her the dwarves were putting up resistance. It went against their very nature to be taken without a fight, but the arrows made it very difficult for them to do so and they all knew it.

'Thorin, my bag!' she hissed in the king's ear. For all their planning that was something that had escaped her notice entirely. Her bag contained _The Hobbit_ and all kinds of things that would make the story they had thought up completely unbelievable, and Thorin had been the one carrying it, since her arm was so useless. Naturally she only thought of that now that it was already too late, but she shuddered at the thought of Thranduil getting his hands on the knowledge about their quest. He was sure to use it, and not in the way they would like. 'They can't…'

The dwarf silenced her with a look. 'The burglar has it.'

Kate growled. 'We still need to hide it,' she snapped, softly in order not to alarm the elves with their annoyingly advanced hearing. Fortunately her friends were causing such a racket that their conversation went practically unnoticed.

She now found herself on the receiving end of a rather incredulous look. 'It is hidden, Kate. The burglar is wearing his Ring.'

It took a few moments before the message sank in properly, but then she let out a sigh of relief. Of course, it was book stuff. Bilbo was never captured by the elves and even though events were thoroughly messed up, that was one thing that had apparently not changed at all. It was a small mercy, but at the moment Kate was grateful for it, since it was all the mercy they were likely to get. 'Thank goodness for that.' It didn't mean that she was about to resign herself to being chained up like the average criminal, but at least they had some advantage now. Kate and Thorin knew already of a good way to escape Thranduil's dungeons and the elf himself did not have as much as a clue. As long as they had the knowledge they were still in the game. They had not yet lost.

_Since when did _you_ become that much of a fighter?_ a sarcastic voice in the back of her head wondered.

_Since I don't want to spend the rest of my life in a sodding cell_, Kate snapped at it. At some point in time she must have found some hidden reserves of courage, but she was grateful for them. Heaven knew she would need them if they were to be led bound into the heart of an enemy kingdom. And enemies these elves were. Tolkien may have described them as the good guys, as not being evil, just wary of strangers, but in Kate's opinion these elves were enemies. No friends had ever tried to tie her up and throw her into a bloody dungeon. And she was with the dwarves. She took it that meant that her allegiance was with them, especially after the oath she had made. _I swear that this quest is also my quest from now on until the day the task has been completed_. And since this was her quest as well, the elves were currently doing a splendid job of getting in the way of her keeping the oath she had made. Enemies indeed.

She gave Thorin a curt nod. 'And the map and key?' She could see that one of the elves was searching Kíli for hidden weapons, having already bound the dwarf's hands behind his back so that he could do nothing to stop it. 'Where are they?' Surely the elves would take them and then they would have a very difficult job getting into the Mountain. Without the map they could manage, because there was a copy of that in the book, but there was no other key than the one Thorin was carrying with him. Without it, the whole journey would be in vain.

She didn't need to explain this to the dwarf. He understood. 'Do you know a place to hide them where they will not find them?'

Kate thought for half a second, then nodded. 'Yes. Give them to me.' It was insane. She would readily admit that. It was the most stupid thing she had ever thought of, but if they were clever about it, they might be lucky and this might just work. And it was not as if she had any better ideas at the moment and Thorin appeared to be clueless as well. They had to think of something and this was clearly the best thing both of them could come up with, since it was too late to give these things to Bilbo as well.

Thorin did throw her a confused look, but he did not protest the notion, instead digging up the key and map and handing them to Kate without asking any questions. That had to be a novelty, but now was not the time to stop and think about that. And fortunately all the struggling around them kept the elves' attention firmly on the other members of the company. Their little exchange went unnoticed.

_Now, time to see how well developed your acting skills are, girl_. The advisor pretended to be knocked off balance when yet another body was shoved against her, making her fall on her backside. The contact with the hard forest floor hurt, but if this was to be successful, she had no time to linger on that. She rolled the key inside the map, which was a very difficult thing to do with just one hand. She kept up a sotto voce stream of curses, whilst at the same time being very grateful for the fact that the resistance the others put up bought her the time she needed to complete the task. Bloody injury. It slowed her down more than she liked.

In the end she managed it though and she slipped the items into her bra. It felt uncomfortable to say the least and Kate winced a little when the key, even through the parchment, pushed against her breast, but at least it was out of sight and in a relatively safe place.

'Help me to my feet,' she muttered at the dwarf king. With one arm out of business she had a difficult time finding her balance at all and getting to her feet under these circumstances required some help, loath as she was to ask for it. But Thorin was a friend and she could ask it of him.

His eyes had widened considerably when he realised what she had been doing. 'What…?' he began to ask.

'The one place they will not search,' Kate explained. If this had been any other situation she would have felt smug. As it was, this was not the time for feeling pleased with herself. 'The elves are hell-bent on doing everything by the rules, right? They won't touch a woman there. It's not decent.'

All her hope of course rested on that idea. If these elves were not as proper and decent as the Rivendell ones, her plan would be dead in the water and she knew it. The same was probably true for Thorin. But it was the best she had and after all, she was a visibly injured woman. She probably looked even less threatening than a baby rabbit at the moment. The elves might not see her as a threat and therefore not search her too thoroughly. And she had better hope that was the case, or the plan would fail.

Thorin gave her a curt, approving nod. 'Good thinking.'

Kate was still recovering from the shock that Thorin Oakenshield had actually paid her a compliment, when the elves interrupted. 'We're missing one!' The speaker was a tall elf – why on earth did they all have to be so bloody tall? – with green eyes and red hair. His eyes were currently narrowed in suspicion, making him look rather dangerous, although admittedly his many weapons had something to do with that as well. Kate suspected that this particular elf was somewhere higher up in the chain of command. He had not been concerning himself with the job of tying the dwarves up, instead walking around, keeping an eye on the proceedings.

Bilbo. They must be talking about Bilbo. Thorin had said that their burglar was wearing his Ring, making him invisible to all. And since he was carrying Kate's rucksack, that must be invisible as well. It was just a shame that the elves had seen him before he had slipped on that sodding piece of jewellery. She may hate the fact that such a dangerous artefact was still in the company, but it did have its uses. So maybe Gandalf had actually known what he was doing, because right now that Ring was nothing short of a gift from heaven.

'What do you mean?' another elf demanded.

'There were fourteen,' the redhead said, still looking at the company suspiciously. The dwarves, Kate noticed, all did their best to look as innocent as possible. They were not doing a very good job of it regrettably. Kíli was smirking and even Thorin looked remotely pleased with himself. For all Kate knew, this might even have been his idea. 'Now there are only thirteen.'

'Wow, you can count,' Kate muttered under her breath. 'Your intelligence is clearly growing.'

That comment had been meant for Thorin's ears only. Unfortunately it had been very silent and Kate realised with a shock that she had been heard by all those present. Oh, bugger.

The leader's attention now focused on her. It was hard to read the faces of elves, but Kate thought it would be a fair guess to say that he was at least a little surprised. 'You're a daughter of the race of Men.' Surprise was there, but some disdain as well.

And Kate had never been able to take that well. It was almost as if she was allergic to it. All it ever managed to do was bring out a side of her that blurted out everything she thought, which was, admittedly, not the wisest thing to do. She had done it in Goblin-town and in Rivendell and before she could even stop herself from doing it, she did it again. 'Your observational skills are astounding as well,' she snapped at the elves. 'Now, if you are quite done stating the obvious…'

The elf did not let her finish. 'Where is the last member of your company?' he questioned sharply.

Good grief, if he thought any of them were going to say that, he was even more stupid than the advisor had already believed him to be due to his earlier observation. So she twisted her face into a smirk, at the moment not caring about the consequences of her actions. 'Oh dear,' she said in a sickening sweet tone of voice. 'We've lost him. Woops.'

And they may be the losing party in this stupid game, at least for now, but when she saw the elf's angry face, for just a split second Kate Andrews felt like the victor.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _Sometimes I wonder if it's possible to get away from the book even if I want to. There weren't even supposed to be elves near this road, but of course we run into them. Or maybe it was just unavoidable after that fire I started._

* * *

**And in come the elves. I couldn't honestly not use them. And the last thing Kate says to the elves is a quote from Spooks (season 3, episode 1). I just couldn't resist using it.**

**Next time Thorin recognises one of his captors and Kate's mouth is, once again, quite a bit faster than her brain. In the meantime, please review?**


	44. Chapter 44 Tied Together

**Chapter 44**

**Tied Together**

_And that, my dears, is where relations with the Mirkwood elves got wrong for me. Of course Thorin already had a long history with them, but I had never met the elves of the Woodland Realm. Of course, I had met elves before them and I had found them not particularly nice. The Rivendell elves were of an unearthly beauty and grace and I always got the feeling that they thought they were far, far above the rest of us because of that. They kept their distance from us and I had been all right with that, because Mahal knows I had been rather uncomfortable around them, preferring the company of the dwarves over that of our hosts. _

_The Mirkwood elves were different, very different. They were, to begin with, far more down to earth than their kinsmen in Rivendell. They were still more handsome than anyone had any right to be, but they were not unearthly. They were the kind of elves who had both feet firmly on the ground and let me tell you, they were not at all pleased to find us in their realm._

_It took me hardly any time at all to establish that these elves were indeed very much like Tolkien had described them. He had written that they were, in his own words, not wicked folk, which I assume they were not. They were bloody annoying and they were definitely no friends of mine, but they were not evil. The distrust of strangers that was mentioned, that they did have plenty of. And I think that their distrust was even stronger because we were not just strangers, but a whole bunch of dwarves, who they clearly hated with a passion. _

_They were also described as more dangerous and less wise than the western elves, something I did not doubt either. The leader of the patrol had already demonstrated his lack of wisdom and the fact that they had not seen Bilbo disappear spoke volumes too. The arrows still pointed at us were testimony enough of the danger they represented. All in all, I did feel uncomfortable around them, just not uncomfortable enough to keep my mouth well and truly shut, thus managing to talk myself further into trouble._

_And of course that is part of the reason why the relations with the Mirkwood elves are as tense as they still are today. I had no idea who I was even insulting and the leader of that patrol did not have it written on his forehead that he was Thranduil's own nephew. I was actually insulting royalty and I don't think the elves have ever truly forgiven me for doing that. No surprise there of course. _

_At the time, however, it did make things only worse than they already were…_

**Thorin**

'Oh, dear.' Kate's voice was as mocking as Thorin had ever heard it, but there was an underlying tone of righteous anger, bordering on hate, to be heard as well, making the tone of voice as a whole biting and sharp. 'We've lost him. Woops.' For just a moment she sounded wholly unconcerned.

And Thorin knew what this was. This was Kate losing her temper. He had been on the receiving end of it more than once and he knew her anger was a force to be reckoned with. The advisor may not excel in the use of weapons, but she could talk people into knots if she so chose. It was just that in this case her chosen approach would only manage to get them further into trouble. These elves were unlikely to take this well and they did have the upper hand now. They could just shoot her if Kate said something they disliked and Thorin did not doubt that they would do it too.

The leader of the patrol – and there was something strangely familiar about his face, even if Thorin could not pinpoint what exactly that was – leaned closer to Kate. 'You know where he has gone, don't you?' he all but growled.

Normally Kate would have backed off by now, but this was not a normal situation and she was in the grip of the anger. She would not back off this time. Thorin had come to know her rather well and that was something the woman would not do, not when she was as mad as she was.

And he was proven right. 'Weren't you listening?' she demanded. 'I told you we had lost him. In simple words that means that I don't know where he's gone off to, although I congratulate him on his ability to outwit you.' She gave the elf a once over. 'Not that it would take much for anyone to outwit you,' she added. 'Now, let. Us. Go. We've done you no harm. All we want is to travel on this road. We'll be gone before you even notice it.' She was still mad, but there was an underlying tone that was almost cajoling. Almost. To Thorin's surprise the woman sounded like an army commander. His first assumption about her, that she must be some kind of authority figure in her world, must have been right. She definitely gave the impression of being used to give commands.

The elf was not impressed. 'You set the woods on fire.'

'We didn't.' It was a blatant lie, but it was spoken with a neutral expression. And here he was thinking that this woman could not lie to save her own life. Thorin made a mental note to never underestimate the advisor again. He had clearly been wrong about her, very wrong about her. 'You can blame the orcs for that. Or you would have been able to blame them, were they still alive.'

Kate's hand was trembling. Thorin could feel it because it was next to his own hand. And he understood why it was trembling, because this was a very dangerous game she was playing. Something told Thorin that he ought to interfere, but another small voice in the back of his head told him to stay out of this and let the woman take care of it herself. She was doing reasonably well so far. Thorin didn't think their captors were about to let them go anytime soon, but they might just escape the charge of being responsible for the burning of their beloved forest, which might make it a little easier on them.

'What do you mean?' the redhead next to the leader demanded. 'There are no orcs in the woods.'

'Not anymore,' Kate shot back. 'The fools had forgotten that they too could be killed by fire. The ones that didn't burn, we killed. So, we've actually done you a favour.'

The elf in charge huffed. 'I will leave that for my king to decide. What are you waiting for? Tie them up.' This was to his own men.

Half of Thorin's company was already tied up and it was only a matter of time before the rest of them would be too. Fighting would after all be most unwise when there were still arrows pointed at them. They would not be able to escape captivity, he knew. This elf was too convinced that he needed to lead them before his king. And that was something Thorin feared. There was no love lost between him and Thranduil. The elf would just love to see his enemy in his dungeon and if he were ever to learn of their true purpose, Thorin doubted he would ever be inclined to let them go.

Thranduil was a coward at heart, the dwarf knew. He was a coward and an oath breaker. He had stood by and watched as Erebor fell, not even lending a hand to the dwarves that were fleeing their burning home. He had just turned his back on his supposed allies and left without a word. And Thorin could not, would not, forgive him for that treachery. And now the elf king would do anything in his power to stop the dwarves from reclaiming their rightful home. He was of course an elf who disliked dwarves and would hate nothing more than to see them strong again, because that would mean they were a political power to be reckoned with. The main reason for this attitude though was his fear of Smaug, or so Thorin believed. And he would not condone the actions of anyone who was planning on taking the Mountain back from that monster, because it would endanger his own realm.

Some of the elves reached for Kate and Thorin was snapped out of his thoughts. It was instinct, he supposed. They were dragging the advisor with them, who cursed and kicked, but it was of course no use at all. His reaction was both unwise and would not do either of them any good in the long run, but he was not going to stand by and let this happen either, so he reached forward and grabbed Kate's waist, dragging her back to him, forcing the elves to let go. His enemies may have weapons, but dwarves were still stronger than any other race in Middle Earth.

'You do not lay a finger on her.' The words came out in a snarl. He had sworn to protect Kate and he would not do that if he let these elves just take her. And they could not truly be meaning to tie her up? She was injured. If they meant to tie her hands behind her back, as they were doing his men right now, then the wound would surely open again and that was bad news. Thorin did not have to be a healer to know that.

It had been wrong thing to do. If he had not known that before, he knew it now. He may be holding on to Kate for the moment, but the look in the elf's eyes made him almost shiver. It was the look of the hunter who knew he can kill his prey without effort. The worst thing about that was that he was absolutely justified in thinking so. And Thorin had just been stupid enough to put a major weakness on display.

'And what does a dwarf want with a human woman?' he inquired in a mocking tone that might even give Kate a run for her money.

It was not something Thorin liked to do, but they had agreed. It was too late now to come up with anything else anyway. And so he strengthened his grip on the advisor's waist, pulling her against him and, consequently, further away from the elves, which was a good thing if he could only believe that it would work for longer than half a minute. 'She is my wife,' he growled. 'And you will not tie her up.' It was a command, plain and simple. 'She is injured.'

The elf snorted. 'Your _wife_?' He gave Kate a once over, clearly dismissing both her and the idea. 'What would you want with her? She's not one of yours, is she? She's got no beard, she's too skinny…'

'And that must be the pot calling the kettle black,' Kate countered. In their current position Thorin did not have the luxury of seeing her face, but he could picture it without effort. She must be staring daggers at him.

The elf – why did he seem so familiar? – merely laughed. 'I am not trying to pass as a dwarf's wife,' he pointed out. The fact that he used the words that he did gave Thorin the impression that he was not buying the story they were trying to sell. They saw it as a trick they were using. And that, he knew, was no good news.

'Thank goodness,' the advisor shot back. 'Because I could see a number of problems with that, to be honest, starting with the fact that you're male, not female, which makes the term wife a little inappropriate.'

Some of the other elves tried and failed to hide their sniggers. Thorin himself currently experienced some trouble in trying to keep his face under control. The situation may be dangerous, but the baffled expression on the elf's face almost made him forget their current predicament. Almost.

'Are you insulting me?' the elf demanded.

_You would have known it if she did_. Thorin had heard far worse from her, back in the early days, when the quest had only just begun and they were at each other's throats at least three times a day. Kate at least had not called him an idiot. But Thorin did wish that she would keep quiet. As much as he loved seeing his enemy taken down a peg or two – preferably more – it was also the quickest route to trouble and that they had enough of as it was already. But he also knew that trying to shut up Kate while she was in the middle of a rant was nothing short of impossible.

'No,' Kate said. 'I had just hoped you'd recognise love when you happened upon it. Shame that you don't. Though with your very limited intelligence I am not too surprised.' She was silent for a moment. 'Just in case you're wondering, that was the school example of a real insult.' She was trembling still. Thorin had his arms around her and he could feel it. And this was not Kate being angry. The anger was there, but this was just to mask her fear. Thorin had seen it before. She was just lashing out as she had done several times before. It was her armour.

The elf was losing his composure and Thorin found that it was time to step in. 'Catherine is my wife,' he repeated, opting on her full name instead of the one she clearly preferred. _Catherine is only for formal introductions and people I don't particularly like_. That was what she had said and he believed it a fair guess to say that this elf fell into both categories. 'Why we married is none of your concern. And you will not lay another finger on her.' It was words and nothing more. When it came down to it, there was nothing he could do to prevent it all from happening. And Thorin Oakenshield hated that, hated that he was so powerless.

'Then we will see to this injury ourselves,' the elf said. 'We can see through your scheme, dwarf. Bind him.' He almost sounded bored. 'Elvaethor, see to this… lady's wound.' The short hesitation before he called Kate a lady was enough to make Thorin's blood boil. 'You seem to think her words so amusing, so you can be the one to look after her.' The elf's gaze went back to Thorin and it hardened. 'Let go of your… wife, dwarf. We'd hate to hurt her in the process.'

He could feel Kate go rigid at the barely concealed threat. It was almost a reflex that made him only hold on tighter. The advisor was his friend and it went against everything he had ever learned to let her go into danger, especially on her own. He could not protect her there and that was what he had sworn to do.

'You think me either faithless or insane, _elf_.' He spat out the last word with as much loathing as he could muster. 'Did you think I would willingly let my wife go to my very enemies without a fight? I will come with her or you'll get neither of us.' Mahal help him through this. This was a fight he was almost doomed to lose. There were still too many arrows pointed at their heads. And why did he have such trouble letting go of the woman? These were elves, not orcs. They may be his enemies, but they would never harm a woman intentionally, not even if they were of the dwarven race. And Kate was no dwarf. She would be safe, or as safe as she could be under the given circumstances.

The elf smirked. 'How interesting, dwarf. It would appear that you are telling the truth.'

Thorin realised it then. It had been a test, to see if he truly was Kate's husband or if he was just telling a story. And it had hardly cost him any effort to play the part at all. Oh, who was he fooling? It had not cost him any trouble at all. Everything he had said, apart from the obvious lies, had been the truth. And he wondered what that said about him and his relationship with the advisor. Mahal knew he had been thinking about this for the better part of the last two days. Their behaviour had fooled both elves and orcs and, as it would seem, their own companions as well. But Thorin did not even know his own mind when it came to the advisor and, admittedly, now was not really the time to delve into the specifics of a relationship that was probably not even there. All that really mattered now was that apparently they had made this convincing and that maybe their foolish scheme to pass as a married couple had not been such a foolish scheme at all.

'You doubted my word?' he demanded.

'We have learned the hard way never to trust a dwarf's word on anything.' The tone of voice was ice-cold. 'Do let go of your wife, dwarf. You would not want her to get hurt, would you? Elvaethor, now please.'

The redheaded elf did one pace forward, only succeeding in making Thorin strengthen his hold. He weighed his chances of grabbing Orcrist and fighting his way out of here, but the chances of success were slim to none. He was the only dwarf still unbound. The others would not be able to help him. But to let go was to admit defeat and Thorin wasn't the kind of person to be defeated. He'd rather die. But there was still a company that needed him alive and if Kate's book was right, they might just find a way out of Thranduil's dungeons. Not all was lost yet. This was not yet the time for a heroic last stand.

'I'll be fine,' Kate whispered. She was trying and failing to keep the tremor out of her voice, but Thorin understood. 'Please. No fighting.'

'If you get yourself killed, I'll revive you and kill you again,' he warned her, using one of the phrases she had used on Dwalin during one of their sparring sessions – wording it only a little differently, more along the lines if he killed her, she'd revive herself to kill him. 'Be safe.' He found that he meant it. Well, she was a friend after all and he would be a fool to even try and tell himself that she was not a close friend of his, because she was.

The redheaded elf, Elvaethor, had come closer. 'No harm will come to her,' he vowed. Thorin looked the warrior in the eyes, but he could not see any deceit in his gaze. For all that it was worth, it seemed sincere, although with elves it was always hard to tell. Who knew what they were thinking? 'I give you my word, …' He waited for a name.

'Frerin, son of Frár,' Thorin lied without hesitating. His lies would not hold when they were led before Thranduil, but in this company no one seemed to have recognised him so far and these elves already thought dwarves were liars. There was not any reputation to be destroyed. And a false identity might, at least for the moment, keep his company safe for a little longer. As soon as his secret was out, things would be difficult, very difficult. 'If you let any harm come to her, no place you choose to hide in will keep you safe.' His oath demanded that of him. It was what he was bound to do by oath. Kate had let him promise very little, but that was one thing she had allowed him to swear and he would make good on it.

He reluctantly let go of his advisor, finding that she was led away immediately and that his arms were forced behind his back. It was painful and he strongly suspected his captors of making it so on purpose, but he did not allow a sound to cross his lips. He stared ahead, rising above their petty treatment of him. He was a descendant of Durin. He would not show weakness to these elves.

'Hey, careful!' Kate shouted. She was still led away, but she had half turned around, sending a furious glare at the elves. 'Have you no shame? He's done nothing to you!' The tone was filled with righteous fury and indignity, but again there was terror as well. The advisor was scared. Thorin could see her eyes now and they could not hide her fear. For some reason it made him want to rush out to her, but the elves had taken away the possibility of doing so. His hands were literally tied and it frustrated it him. His hands clenched into fists, but it did nothing to help him. He was powerless. And he hated it. He had been powerless too often. He had not been able to do anything either when Smaug had taken the Mountain or when so many members of his family died at Azanulbizar.

'How little you know,' the leader of the elves scoffed at her. 'Has your husband not told you anything?'

'He told me you never lifted a finger to help our people,' Kate snarled, the anger hiding the fear. 'I can now see the truth in his words. I would have loved to be wrong, but as it seems, his tales about your endless arrogance were not exactly exaggerated either.'

'My lord Galas, I apologise.' Elvaethor was clearly not at ease. 'My lady, would you please follow me?'

Thorin gave a curt nod at Kate. They both hated the situation they were in and the way they were treated, but it didn't look like these elves were about to kill them off anytime soon. Like the leader had said, he wanted to lead them before his king, which meant that they had to be kept alive at least till then. It was not much of a consolation, but it was better than nothing. They could have been killed instantly, especially if their captors had believed them responsible for burning a sizeable chunk of their beloved forest, although in Thorin's eyes it was a big improvement now.

But this was not even his biggest worry now. Elvaethor had helped him in putting a name to the face of the familiar elf. Galas, son of Eruvarn, who had been a brother of Thranduil's wife. Thrór had made him learn the genealogies in his youth for diplomatic reasons. He had mixed up most names – in his opinion all those elvish names sounded the same and it didn't help that all the elves looked alike to him as well – but Galas had made an impression when he had accompanied his uncle on a visit to Erebor three years before the Mountain fell to Smaug.

He had been haughty, arrogant and several variations on that theme, ascertaining that by the end of the first day every dwarf he had encountered was ready to throw him from the top of the main gate. Thorin had had to remind himself that acting on that impulse would seriously damage the already shaky relationship with the elves, or else he might not have stopped himself from making good on his wish to rid Erebor of this nuisance. Galas seemed to think that dwarves were lesser creatures, never wasting the opportunity to remind them that dwarves were no children of Ilúvatar. They were, or so the elf said, not even meant to be in the original plan of the world. To him that meant that they should bow to the elves and of course in that way he had not made many friends among Durin's Folk.

Thorin found himself forced onto the ground with his men, next to Dwalin. 'Hasn't changed much, has he?' the warrior grumbled under his breath. He had been there too when Galas had made an art out of insulting dwarves and unlike Thorin, he had a much harder time exercising control. Thorin and Balin had to physically restrain him to stop him from doing something rash.

'Not at all,' Thorin agreed. He kept his eyes on Thranduil's nephew, not trusting him. There had been malice in his eyes and the dwarf did not like it at all that Kate had been taken somewhere out of his line of sight.

'It's a miracle he didn't recognise you, laddie,' Balin remarked softly.

But that was not such a miracle at all for Thorin. He had aged and changed and now he was also looking dishevelled from the fight and the long march. The appearance of elves remained ever the same, but dwarves changed. They changed slowly, but they changed. And Thorin knew he did not look like that young prince anymore. Galas however had not changed at all, both in appearance and in manners, which was why Thorin had been able to recognise him, but not the other way around. And to Galas all dwarves looked the same anyway. He could not be bothered to tell them apart when he did not think they were important.

There was however no doubt that Thranduil would be another matter entirely and that made Thorin almost shudder in fear.

**Kate**

There was something very unnerving and very frightening about being taken away from her companions, Kate found. Her heart was racing and her breathing was shallow. She knew these elves were not going to kill her. Apparently her theory about elves being the kings of propriety still held, but that didn't mean that the same courtesy that was extended to her would be extended to her friends as well. There was something about the elves' leader – Galas, she thought he was called – that set her teeth on edge. He was a dangerous man. He could as well have the word _danger_ written on his forehead.

'There is no need to be afraid, my lady.' Elvaethor was without doubt a kinder man, but he was an elf and he was under Galas's command. It would be wise to be wary of him and his intentions. She had to watch her tongue most, she supposed. But she could do that if need be.

'Isn't there?' she shot back. It took her most of her self-control to keep the inner trembling from becoming a visible trembling and anger was her best friend in such cases. 'You have just tied up my friends as if they were common criminals, which is leaving the fact that you have paid us insult and neglected our wounded out of my consideration. Oh, and hang on, I seem to have forgotten about the part where your charming leader threatened to transform us into pin-cushions if we did not do his bidding. Do tell me why I should be unafraid.'

Elvaethor just smiled. 'I would imagine that our ways seem strange to you.'

'Bizarre is the word you're looking for,' Kate retorted. _Get a grip before you talk yourself into trouble, girl_, common sense urged her, but Kate was beyond common sense now. She might be behaving like a rebellious teenager, but at least that kept the worry at bay. Because it frightened her that the elves had found them here. They had been supposed to be safe. Their chosen road would keep them far from the reach of elves, which had been part of the reason why they had avoided the elf path in the first place. And now they were at their mercy all the same. And all of that without Gandalf's meddling. 'Do tell me, is this how you treat all the travellers on your road?'

Elvaethor smiled indulgently as he beckoned for her to sit down on a piece of wood, possibly the trunk of a fallen tree. 'There are not many travellers on this road these days, my lady.'

Kate reluctantly sat down. It made her feel vulnerable, but there was not much choice. 'And I wonder why that is,' she muttered sarcastically. 'What the hell do you want with us anyway? We've done you no wrong!'

At least in the book Thranduil had reason to arrest the company, because he believed them to have attacked his people. Kate would understand why the elven king was not happy with such a thing. But in the book it had not seemed like Thorin and Thranduil had even known each other. In real life they did and Kate was positive that was not a good thing. It could endanger the whole quest.

But Bilbo was still running free. And as long as the hobbit was still alive and free, not all hope was lost. They just needed to find a way to inform him of the information in the book, if he hadn't read it for himself by then. It was in his possession now, so Kate hoped he would have the good sense to pick it up and read it. It could only be useful for the hobbit to learn what needed to be done, especially now they were apparently back to following the book. And that was what it looked like now.

'Do you not think it suspicious that you all survived the forest fire, while the orcs all died?' Elvaethor asked. It was obvious that the elf did not believe the tale they had told them, or rather, the tale _she_ had told them.

'We hid in a cave,' Kate said. And they had, even if she was leaving out most of the story. 'The orcs tried to get in as well, but we killed them.' And when she caught the elf's disbelieving glance, she added: 'We lost one of our number in the fight. Do you honestly think we set your sodding forest on fire for the sheer bloody fun of it? Did you honestly believe we would set the fire alight while we were in the bloody middle of it?' That was of course exactly what she had done, but that was need to know information and Elvaethor had no need to know. He may appear kind and gentle, but Kate was not fooled. His allegiance lay with his people and he was probably trying to question her.

_Wiser to keep your mouth well and truly shut then_, she thought, right before another thought hit her. Maybe she could just play the naïve female and blurt out the story Thorin and she had agreed on. The impression of a naïve young woman she had just given to her captors might work in her advantage. The elves would probably not doubt it, not when it came from her. It was quite obvious that at least that lord and this one – why couldn't elves just have names one could remember and pronounce without too much trouble? – did not think Kate was a clever individual, if only because they thought her married to Thorin.

_But they don't know you're Kate and they don't know he's Thorin_. The advisor was not entirely sure why Thorin had given their captors a false name, although it quite possibly had something to do with that old feud and he wanted to go unrecognised as long as possible, but ever since he had given those elves the names, they had become Catherine and Frerin. The rest of the story would be unchanged, Kate supposed, apart from the fact that they would leave out any mention of the quest and Thorin's true identity. And she could do that, she believed.

'Good grief, elves are even more stupid than I thought already,' she muttered, ending the speech she had begun before her plan had formed.

Elvaethor was now seeing to her wound. He removed the bandages and it took Kate a lot of effort not to curse out loud at the pain it caused. She had to play a role now and using some of the words from her own world might blow her cover. A young woman from this world would have no business using words like that. The dwarves had been giving her quite enough stares. Still, keeping herself from swearing at the pain was a difficult thing to do when the elf's fingers were busy carrying out an examination of her wound and it hurt.

'Can you be a bit more careful?' The words were snapped and rude, but as far as Kate knew no rule in existence ever decreed that a captive had to be nice to their captor, so she didn't bother trying. Elvaethor may mean well or he may be pretending in order to get information out of her, but he was a captor all the same and Kate found she did not react well to it. It scared her, especially since she could no longer see her friends. Good grief, even Dori's endless fussing would be welcome now. 'You're hurting me.' _So keep your bloody hands to yourself._

'It's well looked after.' The elf sounded surprised.

Normally she wouldn't have bothered with a reply, but right now it set her off. 'We have a perfectly capable healer in our midst,' she growled at the elf. The more time she spent around those pointy-eared fellows, the more irritating she thought them. They really thought they were the top of the bill and all the others were just a bunch of fools who could achieve nothing on their own. 'Do grow up and get yourself a sense of realism, will you? We are no savages. That's where you get us mixed up with orcs and I don't think that's a comparison we'd like.' She had seen the same attitude with the elves in Rivendell, even though they had hidden it behind a mask of polite indifference that had annoyed the advisor almost just as much. Of course there was a longstanding dislike on both sides for the other race, but did that mean they just had to be blind to their good qualities? _Hang on, do elves even _have_ good qualities?_

What was interesting, though, was that Kate had found herself agreeing with the dwarves a lot. She had thought she would think the elves more interesting when she'd meet them for real. They had an amazing, if complex, history and meeting them should have been interesting. Instead she found herself increasingly annoyed at their manners – or rather lack thereof – and the whole elves-are-God's-gift-to-the-earth-attitude. They were acting as if they owned the world and the other races were lesser beings. The Rivendell elves had not been too bad – they might not even been doing it on purpose – but these Mirkwood elves were getting on her nerves badly.

_Dwarf at heart_, a little voice in the back of her head commented. It would not be too bad considering she had to pretend to be married to one, but something about it didn't sit well with her. She wasn't anything like that and by the time this quest was finished, she would have to go back home and learn to live with the ordinary people, people who didn't have orcs haunting their every step, people who didn't go on quests to reclaim lost homelands, people who had never seen anything worse than an economic crisis. For some reason even something so big seemed trivial here, maybe because economy was just not that important on this quest. They had bigger things to occupy their minds, like orcs trying to kill them and elves capturing them.

But going back home would be problematic. There would be the whole explanation about where on earth she had been to begin with. The advisor still had no idea what she would tell her family and the police that didn't sound totally insane, wasn't the truth and was at least plausible enough to not have people investigate it extensively. And then there was the problem of having to explain her scars and there was no way she could just dismiss those. But there was the aspect of learning to live in that world as well and that was something that might prove hardest. She would actually have to teach herself to not look over her shoulder every day. She would have to relearn the customs of her world too. While she was here she had changed and the advisor knew that, once she was back home again, those things would not be unlearned again with a simple snap of the fingers.

Kate deliberately allowed herself to think about this as Elvaethor busied himself with her wound, to distract herself from the burning ache. People at home had in general not been through what she had been through, still as shallow as ever, only worrying about a cancelled appointment or a deadline they had to make, while Kate had seen orcs, forest fires and wargs, things she was sure she would never be able to get out of her head again.

Weirdest thing was perhaps that she could handle it. It wasn't easy and if she ever got a decent night's sleep again she was sure she would get nightmares, but for now she could swallow what happened to her, accept it as reality and move on, keep going. And it frightened her. She was not a hero. Kate Andrews was a coward if ever there'd been one. Every time there was a danger she wanted to do nothing more than run and hide and never show her face again, but at the same time she had shouted insult at the Defiler, had knocked out an orc with a shield and had been the one to come up with the most insane plan in the history of both her world and Middle Earth. She had changed, she realised, and she could not say if it was for the better. She somehow doubted it.

'You will not answer my questions?' Elvaethor's voice brought her back to the here and now. It did help that he was quite finished poking at her wound. The tone of voice was both weary and annoyed.

Kate realised she had been miles away. To be quite honest, she had not even noticed that the elf had been talking to her for at least five to ten minutes while he had been seeing to her injuries, but she had just zoned out, looking right ahead with a scowl on her face. That must have given Elvaethor the impression that she was just refusing to talk to him out of stubbornness and spite, and not because she had not heard him.

She could hardly stop herself from smirking. This had not actually been what she had intended, but maybe it was a better way to deal with this after all. It was very dwarvish thing to do at the very least and she was after all still pretending to be married to one. At any rate it was better than that childish display she had given him before. That had not been very dignified. This approach was something Thorin might even approve of. Come to think of it, it might be something he could have done.

'Did you think that I would?' she questioned, resisting the urge to look at him, instead opting on watching at that point right in front of her. How on earth did Thorin pull off that ice-cold behaviour? Kate found it rather hard to copy, especially when she herself was more the explosive type. _Fire and ice have never been known to mix well._

'Catherine, what woman would marry a dwarf of her own volition?' Elvaethor sounded downright disgusted, even if he did try, and fail, to hide it.

'This one,' Kate countered. It was an easy answer, even if infuriated her that this had apparently been the topic of the very one-sided conversation. It should not have been a surprise after Bree and Rivendell, but it was becoming annoying. True, the advisor had not become an advisor of her own free will, but she no longer felt as if she was being forced to go with the company. It was different now. 'And I do not believe my marriage is of any concern to you. Your lord ordered you to see to my wounds, which you have now done. I ask of you to return me to my company.' There, Thorin could not have done it better himself. It was indifferent, slightly bored and commanding. Kate liked it.

'But there are bruises on your arm,' Elvaethor pointed out. He sounded genuinely concerned for her wellbeing, which was maybe the most annoying thing about this. And it had been the same in Bree. She had been treated like she was some kind of victim. It was as if the entire world population seemed to think that dwarves were untrustworthy and that was not how Kate had come to know them. And it annoyed her.

It annoyed her even more that Elvaethor was telling the truth. There were bruises on her arms from where Thorin had gripped her for whatever reason it was at the time. They were tender and not all of them had gone yet, but they had never been made with the intention to hurt her, Kate knew. The chances of successfully explaining that to this elf however were non-existent. He would not believe her, might even accuse her of suffering from Stockholm Syndrome or whatever the local equivalent was.

'I told you already that this is none of your business,' Kate told him coolly. Trying to defend Thorin would not help her at all. Snapping at this elf might just do the trick. 'And you're my captor. You're not in the position to question anyone his treatment of me when you are the one robbing me of my freedom.' She conjured up as condescending a tone and glare as she could manage, trying to drive the message home that she was not answerable to this man, no matter what he had deluded himself into thinking.

'Lady Catherine…' he began.

'I asked to be brought back to my company,' Kate interrupted. 'I neither wanted nor asked you to delve into the specifics of my personal life, which are, I repeat, no concern of yours. Now, if you could take me to my friends, I'd be glad of it.'

'My lady, it is clear to me that you are a victim. You needn't go back.' Elvaethor still seemed sincere, even if it was bloody hard to tell. What on earth could he possibly want with her? He wasn't offering this out of the goodness of his heart, she was sure. If the advisor had learned one thing about elves on this journey, it was that they always had an ulterior motive. Nothing they said or did could be taken at face value. And there was another reason why she appreciated the dwarves. They may be rude, they may be blunt and they may be terribly ill-mannered, but they were honest, brutally so. This shady game the elves were playing made her skin crawl.

Her irritation and fear, even though that emotion had now taken a backseat, made it almost too easy to glower at him again. 'Am I a damsel in distress now?' she demanded. 'So far I think the only distress I may experience is caused by you and your friends. Now, kindly take me back before I have to ask again. I have no ambition to get away from my husband and I would appreciate it if you never suggested so again.' Kate could not even begin to wonder when she had perfected that ice queen mode, but she liked it. And it seemed to work better than shouting. Maybe she should model her conduct in these cases a little more on the dwarf king's than she had originally thought. It appeared to be working at any rate.

Elvaethor looked defeated, which was strange, considering he was the laughing winner in this case and quite possibly hundreds of years her senior. It was a little unnerving, but Kate found herself quite incapable of being impressed by things like that. She guessed she was running on adrenaline now. Later, quite possibly after a lot of sleep – if she was ever going to get any – then it might occur to her just how unlikely this even was.

'Why would you want to remain with him?' the elf asked. He truly seemed puzzled.

Kate got up. 'There's this little thing called loyalty,' she informed him. 'Apparently it is an unknown concept to you, but it isn't to me. I have made my choice.'

And she had, she supposed. It wasn't just words anymore. It had ceased being words the moment she had taken that oath to make this quest her own. Maybe it had been a foolish thing to do, but with something of a shock the advisor realised that she had not regretted it. That was a strange notion, a little bewildering to her. She had truly believed she would regret it within the hour. But these dwarves had become her friends, her family, as real as the friends and family she had left behind in her own world. The parting eventually would not come easy, but that was for another time.

Elvaethor looked a bit chastised – as he should – but he also gave the impression of being curious, intrigued. That made Kate's skin crawl as well. She was just a curiosity to him. He might care about her, but not too much. She was just a mystery: the human woman who had lost her mind and married a dwarf. Ladies and gentlemen, come and see! She was starting to regret her decision to go with this story, even if she could not for the life of her come up with another one. The truth might do, although that might just made her look like even more of an oddity than she already was: the girl from another world with knowledge of the future. And no, that was something she could do without.

All in all it was just a relief to see her friends again, tied up though they may be. Thorin's eyes immediately settled on her, silently asking if she was well. It was the commander kind of look, but there was genuine worry there as well, which was refreshing after Elvaethor's probing about her personal life.

She grimaced, rolled her eyes and then gave a curt nod in response, which Thorin, judging by his facial expression, translated correctly as: _it was hell, the elf was a right pain in my arse, but I've survived. It could have been worse._

If Galas had been the one to see to her injuries, she was not so sure she would have come out alive. He seemed to hate all the dwarves with a passion – which, for the moment, included her because of her assumed marriage – and the alarming thing was that he was not alone in that. Most of the elves seemed to harbour serious dislike towards the dwarven race, looking at them as if they were worth less than the dirt under their fine boots. Elvaethor was the least infuriating of the lot, it would seem. He was more like the silly elves they had met in Rivendell. It wasn't much of an improvement, but it was something.

'We cannot tie the lady up,' he informed his leader. 'Her wound will open immediately if we do.' So that was what this whole business had been about. It was not concern for her, not on Galas's part anyway, but rather to check the truth of Thorin's words. It made Kate want to hit something or, better still, someone. It would be perfect if that someone just so happened to be called Galas and she managed to land a hit where it really hurt.

'We cannot allow her to wander freely either,' the elf lord said. He gave Kate a once over and then smirked. 'Tie her to her husband, Elvaethor. She appears to like dwarves, so she won't have too much problems with it.'

* * *

From Kate's notes: _Charming_.

* * *

**So, I hope you like the new elvish characters. Both Galas and Elvaethor have important parts to play later on, but they are pretty hard to write, but then that's true for all elves.  
**

**Next time, Thorin finds himself on the receiving end of Elvaethor's questions. Until then, reviews are very welcome. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.**


	45. Chapter 45 Insult and Injury

**Chapter 45**

**Insult and Injury**

_And there is my first meeting with the Mirkwood elves in a nutshell. It probably explains why things have always been rather tense, although the best – or worst, depending on whatever way you choose to look at it – was still to come. We had only just been captured and there was still a march north to look forward to and the meeting with aforementioned elf king after that._

_And of course I wasn't making things any better. Well, at least I gave Thorin a fair warning that me and my big mouth just might talk us all into trouble and it would soon turn out that those words had prophetic value. You of course already know that Galas is Thranduil's nephew. I had no idea who he was and thus no idea who it was I was insulting. Thorin of course did know, but by the time he got around to warning me, the damage had already been done._

_I blame the fact that I was tired, annoyed and still uncertain about what was actually going to happen to us for the fact that I didn't just think _Charming_ when Galas ordered me to be tied to Thorin, but I actually said it out loud. As it was silent, it was only better audible for the people around us._

_That had been the wrong thing to say. I had been pushing my luck before, but this was taking a lot of unnecessary risks. I was angry and I didn't check my tongue as much as I probably should have, a trait I unfortunately seem to have passed on to you, Jack. And Galas already disliked me after I had paid him insult before, even though he had seemed to be only amused at the time. He was not amused anymore. 'Remember your place, woman,' he snapped at me, which for some reason was quite threatening and a clue that I should really keep quiet. 'I am nobility and you will treat me as such.'_

_It wasn't wise what I did then and I would strongly advise all of you never to follow my example, not even when you're as tired and angry as I was then. As satisfactory as it is for the moment, the trouble that follows just isn't worth it. Take it from one who knows. 'If I think you deserve it, then I will,' I shot back, ignoring Thorin's muttered protests. If he'd had his hands free he would probably have clasped them over my mouth to prevent me from blurting out anything else, but he hadn't, so I cheerfully went on. 'For the moment all I can see is an arrogant elf whose mouth is an awful lot bigger than his brain.'_

_That of course had been the wrong thing to say. It was a childish thing to do as well, very foolish and hardly worthy of a future queen, although, in my defence, I didn't know I was one. Galas just forgot everything he had ever learned about how one treats women and knocked me over the head. With the hilt of his sword. And that, my dears, may be the reason why you've never seen your father allow that elf to come into the Mountain…_

**Kate**

The first thing seeping through to Kate's brain was that she had a splitting headache and there was an understatement if ever she'd heard one. It felt like her head had somehow ended up between hammer and anvil and someone was now merrily hammering away on her left temple, from where the pain spread to the rest of her skull. Kate could not remember having such a headache since the time she had accidentally walked against a lantern post while she was looking over her shoulder back at one of her friends.

The next thing she realised was that her head wasn't the only thing hurting, although it was by far the worst. Her arm was still stinging and itching, but in the light of recent events the advisor found that it was rather easy to ignore.

She felt a little disorientated, but for just this once she had no questions about how in the world she had ended up the way she had. It was that elf, Galas, who had knocked her out after she had accused him of having a very small brain, true though it may be. She recalled the exploding stars, and _not_ in a good way, as his weapon connected with her head and she remembered the falling as well. There was also the sound of a roaring lion in that memory, which was strange, because Mirkwood may be home to all kinds of strange creatures, but she didn't think lions would live in it. She dismissed that part of the memory as imagination. No one could really think straight when they had been whacked over the head with the hilt of a sword anyway, could they?

It was a sense of self-preservation that urged her to lie quietly and figure out what was going on around her before she made a move. She might have been reckless, but she wasn't suicidal and she had absolutely no ambition to get struck down again. It would be better to find out what was going on and act on that information.

Her surroundings at least were quiet, or as quiet as they would be in a camp. There was snoring somewhere not too far away from her that she could easily identify as Bombur's – his snores always were the loudest – and several other dwarves'. It did not mean that the elves had gone. Kate assumed they just didn't snore. It didn't fit with the kind of beings they were. Yet the thought that she could not determine where they were made her uneasy.

There was breathing closer by, just a little distance away from her left ear. Dwarf, she guessed. No elf would willingly come that close to her, she supposed, and the arms that were currently wrapped around her torso took away any doubt she might have entertained. No elf would have arms that thick. However, she was under the impression that all her companions had been tied up. They should not have their hands free at all.

She must have stirred a little, for someone spoke. 'Catherine?' The voice was familiar, very much so. It just wasn't normal for him to address her by her full name. The shortened version of it, yes, and in the past her surname as well, but Catherine was something he had only used in Rivendell.

She forced her eyes open, but there wasn't much to see. 'Tho…?'

Thorin did not give her the chance to finish, laying a finger against her lips to prevent her from speaking, making Kate realise that she had been about to blow their covers by just blurting out Thorin's real name. Things being the way they were there was bound to be at least one elf standing guard. And with their sharp hearing they would doubtlessly pick up everything they said.

'So,' she began again, hoping that whatever elf had been eavesdropping would dismiss the th-sound she had just made as a small lisp on her part. 'What happened?' The answer to that was pretty obvious, but it was the best thing she could come up with to rectify her little slip up. And people weren't supposed to be very original when they had just been knocked out, were they? 'After I passed out?' she added.

Thorin did not respond immediately, not to her question anyway. 'Are you well?' he asked. Kate could not dismiss that worried tone as a product of her imagination. This was too real. He was truly worried for her. She did try to dismiss the warm feeling his concern left her with though. This was hardly the time to think about such things. 'Catherine, how bad is it?'

Kate grimaced. 'Could have been worse,' she told him. 'My head feels like someone's tap-dancing on top of it and my arm is aching as well, but it really could have been worse.' She supposed that was the truth. The elf could have cut her head off for insulting him. But mostly she was just trying to belittle what happened to her in order to stop Thorin's fussing. She may be getting used to the more relaxed side of him, but him worrying over her to such an extent was still a bridge too far. 'Could have been better too if I had not let my mouth get away with me,' she added. 'Who the hell did I insult actually?'

'His name is Galas.' Thorin's reply was nothing more than a growl and suddenly Kate wondered if the lion she had heard just before she had passed out had not merely been Thorin in a fit of temper. It would explain a few things.

'I worked out that part for myself, you know,' she commented. Talking and thinking at least distracted her from the pain to some extent. 'But who is he? Someone pretty high up, I reckon?'

'He's Thranduil's nephew.' The growl had yet to disappear from Thorin's voice.

Kate moaned. 'Please tell me you're joking,' she begged. 'Please tell me that I did not just insult elven royalty.' It had to be the most stupid thing she had ever done and that included setting an entire forest aflame to get rid of orcs. No, of course she had to go and insult the nephew of the king who held their fate in his hands. _Me and my big mouth_.

'You've never had a problem with insulting royalty before,' Thorin whispered close to her ear, so softly the advisor doubted the elves would be able to make it out.

She poked him with her right arm. 'That's different,' she insisted. 'At least that royalty didn't have the power to throw me into a dungeon or chop off my head whenever it suited him.' She chuckled, but quickly became serious again. 'I managed to get us into trouble now, didn't I?'

'We were already in trouble.' He exhaled audibly. Kate supposed it was night and they were still in Mirkwood, because she could not see a single thing. She had to go on what she could hear and feel. And that wasn't terribly much either.

'Yes, but I did probably make it worse.' She wasn't really trying to take either the blame or the glory for her great stupidity, but it wasn't exactly deniable either. She'd best take responsibility when she had to. 'This Galas, he does have a temper. Bless me, it's even worse than yours.'

This time she was rewarded with a low chuckle. 'Are you insulting me?'

It felt good to try and lighten things up a bit since they were so dark and gloomy at the moment. It distracted her from the headache, but it mostly distracted her from her own thoughts, which weren't exactly cheerful. Galas had a temper and it would be safe to say that she had gotten on his bad side in a matter of minutes. Now that would not have been such a difficult job anyway, not with Galas already having a strong dislike of dwarves and their associates.

'I am always insulting you,' she countered playfully. 'I have done so since we first met. I'm hardly going to change now.'

'Mr High and Mighty,' Thorin said.

Kate chuckled. 'Not my proudest moment,' she admitted. 'Though, in my defence, you had just accused me of being a liar.'

It was a show, she knew, and a good one too. Thorin knew that as well. They had to convince the elves that they were a couple and this would do it. They used elements of truth, elements present in their working relationship and friendship as well. But neither of those two things normally involved Thorin's arms around her, his breath tickling her face or their bodies being so close together. They had been close before. Kate had slept with her head in his lap and Thorin had held her in the cave in the Misty Mountains as well. That had been a little like this, except that at the time they had been kept apart by one heavy cloak and a lot of dwarvish armour. And they had not been lying under one single blanket like they were now. The lines between reality and show were becoming blurred and it frightened the advisor, badly.

Because no matter how much she disliked the thought, she was getting closer to Thorin. It had happened without her even realising, but by now it was far too late to do anything about it. They were drawn together, like magnets. Maybe they had been from the beginning. Ever since she had come to know the dwarf they had sought each other out. At first it had been for the fight, the strange thrill of finding someone who was as good as this arguing game as the other was. Kate was not sure what Thorin got out of it, but that was the reason for her.

But she had disliked him at the time, might even have hated him, although that might be taking things a bit too far. There had not been love, no affection at all. What there had been, what there still was, was chemistry. Something just sparked whenever they got together. It was that very same thing that had caused them to be real friends and allies.

Affection was here now, love was not. No matter what her friends and family thought, she was not in love with Thorin Oakenshield. A man and a woman could be friends without being romantically involved, even if one added chemistry to the mix. But they needed to put on a show for these people and while their teasing was close to normal – or what had become normal to them over the past few weeks – it was different at the same time and Kate blamed the close proximity to the dwarf for that. And it was even more intimate because Thorin's armour had been taken from him and only the fabric of their tunics separated them now. It frightened Kate, because she was starting to lose sight of what was real and what was not. Would Thorin experience this in the same way? If she'd not have a headache already, she would have gotten one then, if only from all this thinking that did not provide her with any answers whatsoever.

'I was wrong.' The dwarf's voice was soft, but intense, truly admitting he had been wrong to doubt her.

'Hear, hear,' Kate muttered, meaning to tease, but finding herself incapable of doing so whole-heartedly after he had just told her in all sincerity he had been unfair in his treatment of her. She just couldn't handle this. The teasing she could and the same could be said about the shouting. But when this softer side came out, she didn't know what to do with herself. That was bewildering and, on a different level, frightening as well. 'Frerin, son of Frár, admits he's wrong. I never thought I'd live to see it.' She thought for a moment. 'I was wrong too, when I called you Mr High and Mighty.' She did not know exactly where the words came from, but they felt right, like something that should be said, even if she couldn't fathom what for. Maybe, she pondered, it was because he had admitted to being wrong, she ought to do the same, because it was fair.

She could feel a finger softly brushing some of her hair away from her face. 'Why?'

_Why are you touching me like that? Can the elves see in this utter darkness? Is this a show you're putting on?_ If that was so, then she was fooled as well. What was his game? What was he playing at? 'What?' she retorted, trying not to show her confusion. 'Would you like me to think you were still Mr High and Mighty?' She conjured up an amused bark of laughter. 'I wouldn't have married you if you were.' Maybe that was what was scaring her, the plausibility of it all. Had she been an elf, she would not have doubted the existence of such a relationship. They made it convincing. And in some strange parallel universe it was something that might just have happened.

_Get a freaking grip on yourself, girl_, she told herself. _This is not one of your fanfictions. You ought to know that by now. It's a show, nothing more. Good grief, you must have a severe concussion if you're starting to think like that._ This was probably common sense making an appearance again, which bothered Kate for reasons she could not quite comprehend.

_Shut. Up_, she thought back at it. This was not the moment to get distracted. It might be better to just call it a night and go back to sleep before things could get out of hand. But she was too awake now. Sleeping was out of the question at the moment.

_Catherine Sarah Andrews, don't you dare fall for this dwarf_. Common sense cheerfully ignored her attempts to shut it up, but nothing new there. It was a part of her and she wasn't in the habit of listening to anyone, apparently not even to herself. _It's impossible. He belongs in this world, you don't. You need to go back home when this is all over. And this is not a romance story. This isn't even a story. You're not some lovesick teenage girl. You're an adult, so start acting like one._

Kate gave a mental snort. _He doesn't even like me like that, which makes this discussion pointless either way._

'You have grown up a little, if you'll forgive me for that horrible pun,' she added. This mental discussion was not only pointless, but rather alarming as well and she needed to distract herself from it and she did it in the best way she knew: teasing Thorin. 'Believe it or not, you are a good man… dwarf… whatever. You know what I mean.' And she did mean that. Playing it close to the truth made this show easier to pull off. It also meant that her feelings might be in some form of unspecified danger, but that was something to worry about later, after they had escaped from the elves.

That finger was still toying with a lock of her hair that must have escaped from her braid some time ago. Now there was a distraction if ever she'd known one. He made it bloody hard for her to concentrate. Of course, that could just be the fault of the headache. It would be safer to blame it on that.

_Good grief, all it takes is a blow to the head to get so seriously delusional._ Galas had better not repeat this treatment, because in that case she might start to fear for her sanity.

Thorin chuckled again, hand still playing with her hair. Under the given circumstances she could hardly demand of him to get out of her hair, both literally and figuratively. The elves would suspect something was off if she did that. 'I always knew there had to be a reason.'

It was a game they were playing, a dangerous one, a frightening one, but at the same time the thrill of doing this well made Kate smile, bordering on a smirk. No one could see it since her face was very nearly pressed against Thorin's chest. Here she was, Kate Andrews, aspiring journalist, outwitting the most ancient and wise – supposedly so, admittedly – creatures to walk this earth. And it didn't seem to be much trouble at all. It just happened without much of an effort. It was thrilling in its very own way, even if they were still said elves' captives.

But they would get out of this situation. Elves were not orcs and none of them had shown some serious plans to separate heads from torsos yet. If Bilbo read the book, or she got a chance to tell him about the loophole in elvish security, then they might get out again and no elf would ever see it coming.

'You knew it already, didn't you?' Kate shot back. 'And speaking of things we weren't talking about, how come you're not tied up?' She frowned. 'How come that I am not tied up either? You won't hear me protest, but I was wondering. Are they not afraid we will make a run for it?'

This was decidedly safer territory than the flirting and Kate had been wondering about this matter already. Her memories of the moment before she had been knocked out were a little hazy, but she was quite sure it had featured a Thorin with his hands tied behind his back. And he had been very unhappy about it too. She was sure that had happened. Then why was she lying in his arms right now?

'We _are_ tied up.' The growl was back in his voice. He took Kate's right hand and guided it to his waist. Before she could even start to wonder what that was supposed to mean she felt rope underneath her fingers. A short investigation made her realise it went all around him.

'Charming,' she commented.

'Follow the rope,' the dwarf ordered.

Kate did as she was told, finding the knot and following the cord from there on, a little surprised when she found it ended with her. She was tied up in a similar fashion, bound by the same piece of rope that held Thorin as well. _What on earth…?_

A memory resurfaced then. She recalled Galas's smirking face as Elvaethor brought her back after his examination of her injuries. He had been the one to tell the elf lord that they could not tie Kate up as they had done the other dwarves, because her wound would surely open again. The Mirkwood elves were an annoying lot and far less civilised than the elves of Rivendell, but it would seem that they were incapable of mistreating a woman, even one they considered married to their enemy.

For one glorious moment Kate had allowed herself to think that she would get away with it, that she might have some freedom, which she could then use to try and find a way to get away from these elves. But then Galas had turned the situation to his advantage. _Tie her to her husband, Elvaethor_, he had said. _She appears to like dwarves, so she won't have too much problems with it._ And that remark had been the entire reason why things had gotten so badly out of hand and why she was lying here with that massive headache in the first place. Bloody elves.

'We are actually tied together?' she asked incredulously. What was this, some elvish form of humour? If that was the case, she couldn't say she appreciated it. 'Are they not afraid we will try to run for it together?' Even elves could not be that stupid, even though Kate's opinion on their intelligence was not too good at the moment.

'The end of this cord is tied around a tree,' Thorin informed her. 'And it's elvish rope.' He spoke the word elvish as if it was something particularly nasty, something akin to orcs or wargs. 'The knots won't come undone for us.'

'Crap.' That was probably the best word to describe this situation. Come to think of it, these elves were rather clever. It would seem that they knew what they were doing. That should not have been too much of a surprise and it wasn't. It was just very unpleasant to realise there was nowhere they could possibly run to, nothing they could do for the moment. If this was the state of things, then they could not reasonably do something until they were in Thranduil's dungeons and Kate had no ambition to let things come so far. The thought of being locked up frightened her.

_Keep this up and you'll be scared of everything_, her brain commented.

How did the fanfiction heroines deal with all this? Stupid question, she knew. Those stories weren't based on reality. Most of them were not realistic in the slightest. They were just the consequence of how a specific author wanted the heroine to act. Realism had nothing to do with it. The only useable advise she had in this case came from her friend and ally. _Do not let them see your fear. They want you to fear them. Do not give them the satisfaction._ That had been his words in Goblin-town, but they were true for whatever dangerous situation they were in.

Thorin exhaled. The action tickled her face. 'Sleep, Catherine.' It was strange to hear him say her full name. It almost sounded as if he cared and in quite a different manner than a normal friend would do. 'Sleep while you can.'

'If you do the same,' Kate countered. 'Can't have you fall asleep on me tomorrow.'

'I am not sure if I can.' In the dark Thorin was just a voice, but he sounded vulnerable. 'How can I rest now?' Kate could hear the words he didn't say. _How can I sleep while the quest is at risk? How can I sleep when we are all prisoners of elves? How can I sleep when I was the one that led them into danger?_

She bit her lip. 'You're no use to anyone like this,' she told him. 'You need your strength if you want to fight another day.' They all did. Heaven knew they needed all the strength they had if they wanted to come out of this again.

**Thorin**

Kate was right. She was right in saying that he would be better off if he slept to regain some of his strength. The only ones to benefit from his exhaustion were the elves and Thorin would hate to give them a victory on a silver platter. And there was not much he could reasonably do while he was tied to the advisor and the tree.

Nevertheless sleep did not come easy and he woke several times during the night, lying awake for what felt like hours before he drifted off again, his head filled with worried thoughts he could not get rid of. Kate had fallen asleep fairly quickly. Thorin envied her for it. She was no less displeased with the situation, nor was she any less worried about the future, but at least she had the good sense to sleep while she could.

It was even worse that it was dark and he could not see a single thing. He had the strong suspicion that the elves with their stronger senses could see perfectly in here and that too did absolutely nothing to cheer him up. Quite the contrary, it made him almost afraid. They could stab him in the back before he could even notice them. Thorin did not think they would actually do that, but the feeling remained.

When morning came, it was a relief. He had been able to snatch bits and pieces of sleep throughout the night, and when he opened his eyes the worst dark had gone. The world was still coloured in greys and blacks, but he could at least make out shapes. Most of his company was still lying down and the tell-tale snoring from Bombur and his brother betrayed that they at least had drifted off to sleep eventually. Kate too was still sleeping. During the night she had snuggled up to him, left hand resting against his heart, the right one under her head as some kind of pillow. In sleep her face was relaxed and peaceful. No nightmares had haunted her sleep. He was grateful for that. On the other hand there were the daily nightmares to make up for the ones they did not have whilst sleeping.

And a nightmare the coming days would be, of that he had no doubt. Thorin did not fear the march ahead, or the humiliation the elves would surely inflict on them, but he did fear the confrontation with Thranduil, because that was one thing they would not be able to avoid and then all their plans would die. And escaping now would be impossible. They had already left the road in favour of some elven path that led north. Even if they could make some miraculous escape and they would be able to find the road again, there was no doubt the elves would catch up to them eventually. It was not a scenario he looked forward to, but he had admittedly been in tighter spots.

At least they might have a way to escape Thranduil's dungeons and Thorin forced himself to focus on that. There was a way. He would not spend the rest of his life in a dungeon, no matter what Thranduil thought. And Thorin did not think the elf king was aware of the loophole in his security. Thorin was in no mood to point it out to him. It might yet be their salvation.

By the looks of things the elves had not been sleeping at all. The one who had seen to Kate's injury the previous day, the redheaded elf by the name of Elvaethor, was leaning against a nearby tree. He looked puzzled and that puzzled look was directed at Thorin and the woman who was still sleeping against him. If he was right, then the two of them still looked like lovers – Kate's hand against his chest would only emphasise the non-existent relationship – and that was bound to confuse the elves. About that subject elves, orcs and goblins had been in absolute agreement: marriage between different races did not happen. It was the things stories were made of, things that had happened in ages long ago. It did not happen in the world today.

Thorin met the elf's eyes and silently challenged him. There was something the dwarf did not quite trust about this one, even if he did seem less disagreeable than his companions. He for one did not seem to hate them as much as Galas did – although he would be pressed hard to find anyone who hated dwarves more than the elf king's nephew – but he looked at Kate in a way that made Thorin's skin crawl. He looked at the advisor as if she was some kind of curiosity, a rare object to be put on display for all to see, the way the Arkenstone had been placed above Thrór's throne.

The elf caught his gaze and reacted to it with a relaxed smile, conveying the message that he didn't think Thorin's opinion of him very important. He rather seemed to think it entertaining, something the dwarf had a problem with for more than one reason.

'Why do you look at me in such a way, Frerin, son of Frár?' he asked, strolling over to them and inviting himself to sit next to them, closer than Thorin was comfortable with.

The dwarf was not as tall as the elf, not by a long way, but he could save some of his dignity by sitting up, which lessened the height difference considerably. Kate made a sleepy noise of protest when he moved, but did not wake. Thorin was grateful for that, because this was a conversation he would prefer to have without her knowing. He lifted her head into his lap. The advisor did not stir.

'You know why,' Thorin told the elf. 'I will not have you look at my wife that way.' He did not think Elvaethor desired Kate for himself. Elves did not fall for human women for multiple reasons. The mortality was only one of those issues. Elves didn't like the race of Men. They were held in higher esteem than dwarves and orcs, but that was quite possibly the best thing that could be said about it. No, Kate was just an oddity to him.

'She is remarkable,' the elf commented. 'A mystery. I have not seen the likes of her in my life, Frerin, son of Frár.'

'You wouldn't have,' Thorin agreed. And for far more reasons than this nosy elf could ever know. It was a good thing he was unaware of Kate's otherworldly origins or he would be ogling her far more than he already was.

'What woman would choose to marry a dwarf of her own volition?' Elvaethor wondered.

'This one,' Thorin countered. Something about the elf's manners made him uneasy. He felt like he was missing the point, like he was interrogated in some way. And maybe he was. He had just not thought he would be questioned about his assumed marriage. Their purpose in Mirkwood, aye, but not this.

The elf let out a bark of laughter, although how he managed to make it sound like song was beyond Thorin. It was something elves apparently did. It did not mean he had to be comfortable with it. 'Your wife said the same thing,' he explained. 'It is a rare occurrence to see two souls so close.'

It suddenly was no miracle anymore to Thorin why Gandalf liked elves as well as he did. For as far he could see, they were equally cryptic. 'If you cannot make sense, then do please leave us,' he said as rudely as he could. 'I have said all I have to say to you.' And he had. He was confident that his point had been made. Elvaethor was to leave Kate and him alone and that was all he had to say. The less he had to deal with this one, the better it would be. He might even prefer Galas over this elf. At least Thranduil's nephew was easy to read in comparison with this warrior.

Elvaethor however was not impressed. And maybe he had no reason to be. Thorin was only a captive now. His commands meant nothing here. 'How much do you know about the swords you carried, Frerin, son of Frár?' The tone was conversational, almost as if they were discussing the weather conditions.

But Thorin was instantly wary. He knew the blades were elvish in origin, although he could never be bothered to learn their histories, since the elves clearly did not bother with his. But he expected that Elvaethor knew both Orcrist and Excalibur. And if that was the case, then he might soon find himself accused of theft. That would make matters worse. 'Very little,' he replied curtly. 'They were found in a troll hoard by my company some months ago, so whatever it is that you are accusing me of, _elf_, it is not true.'

'I was not accusing you of theft, Frerin, son of Frár.' Thorin was starting to find the repetitive use of his entire – if false – name annoying. He was starting to regret choosing the name already. Being addressed by the name of his younger brother was difficult, especially since Frerin was gone. And Frár had been one of his father's guards, someone the brothers had been particularly close to since early childhood. The dwarf had sometimes been more of a father to both of them than Thráin. He had perished the day Smaug came, but Thorin always kept fond memories of him and so it had come without effort to give his name as the one of his father. Frár would have approved of it, he knew. He might even have been proud.

'Then what?' he demanded sharply. 'You have taken our weapons from us. Unless you plan to give them back to us, I fail to see the relevance of your question.' If Kate had been awake she might have snapped at the elf to stop beating around the bush and Thorin found himself wanting to use those words as well, but it would be best to avoid any strange expression for now. They were already getting more than enough attention.

'I was just inquiring how much you know about the blades' histories,' Elvaethor assured him.

Thorin didn't buy it. Nevertheless he answered the question. 'Nothing.' It was a lie, but his visit to Rivendell and the presence of Gandalf were best edited out for the moment.

'It's fascinating history,' Elvaethor said, leaning back. 'They were forged by the elves of Gondolin, long ago, and given to Ecthelion by King Turgon. The sword you wielded, Orcrist, was the most important blade of course, but your wife's blade was the reserve.' Thorin wondered how Kate would react to the fact that Excalibur had only been a spare blade and made an educated guess that she would not like it.

He still was not entirely sure what it even was that Elvaethor was saying. 'Your point?' Kate might have been saying the exact same thing had she been awake.

'The blades that were once carried by a single soul are now carried by two,' was the reply, although in Thorin's opinion it didn't count as one. And what was this with elves that no matter what they said they always tried to make it sound like poetry? Would it be too much to ask to use normal words?

'Your souls must be very close,' the elf observed with that serene elvish smile that drove Thorin up the walls at the best of times. And this time the words strengthened the urge to do some serious damage to that smile and the face that bore it. He had to hold back, though, because Elvaethor's assumption fit in perfectly with the story they had made up. It didn't mean he had to like it. As it was, he had his fair share of gossip from his own company.

'If you are quite done stating the obvious…' In cases like this Kate's approach was worth a lot. Thorin had seen her in moods like these often enough to have very little trouble copying it for his own use. And his anger was a great asset in getting the exact right tone of voice.

'Your wife is a remarkable woman, Frerin, son of Frár,' Elvaethor said. 'And fiercely loyal, especially when one considers she is of the race of Men…' Thorin clenched his hands into fists and tried to remind himself that punching the elf would do him no favours. 'I have seen the bruises on her arm and yet she defends your every action.'

That was too much. 'Are you accusing me of hurting my wife on purpose?' It came out as a snarl. What was this pointy-eared idiot thinking? What right did he think he had to meddle in people's personal lives? 'Do you truly think she would be loyal to me if that was the case?'

The elf shook his head. 'I do not know what strange hold you have over her, dwarf.' He got to his feet so that he could look down on Thorin, something he disliked for various reasons. 'You hurt her, yet she cannot bear to hear ill spoken of you.'

'I do not think my personal life is any of your business,' Thorin told him dismissively, copying Kate's most disapproving tone of voice. She was still asleep, so she could not hear him do it anyway. It did not matter. 'And I think it is time you took your leave of us.'

The thing was that he had made bruises on Kate's arms, bruises that had not fully healed yet. They just had not been made on purpose. It had been accidents and if Elvaethor had confronted Kate about them, as Thorin suspected he had, then she might have said the same thing. But the accusation made him snappy. Elvaethor did not understand anything. And how could he really? He had not been with them on the journey, so he did not understand the dynamics. Mahal, not even their own companions understood their dynamics. Thorin would find it difficult to explain them even to himself, so how could anyone else possibly see how things truly were between them?

'It is strange,' Elvaethor pondered. It was almost as if he was thinking out loud. 'And contradictory as well. You hurt her, yet she stays. Why?'

Thorin sent him as icy a stare as he could muster. 'Have you asked her?' he demanded. 'She might know the answer to your question.' Kate might hate him for that later when Elvaethor did ask her, but it would make him back off for now.

'I might,' the elf said. 'It is most… interesting.' He walked away before Thorin got the chance to formulate a coherent reply.

What was this all about? That was the most urgent question at the moment. What did the elf want with them? When they were captured, Thorin had feared that his biggest problem would be facing Thranduil and explaining why they were in Mirkwood in the first place. They had decided on Kate posing as his wife to keep her with the group, to prevent the elves from trying to play what she would call knights in shining armour. It was supposed to be a minor detail and had truly not played a big part in their strategy talks. Their focus had been on preventing a run-in with the elves in the first place and several scenarios what to do if the worst should happen and they did get caught. This however had not been a part of their worst case scenarios.

And Thorin did not like it. The elves themselves were unnerving, but Elvaethor was downright creepy. He certainly was more interested in their relationship than he had any right to be and Thorin could not for the life of him figure out why. What was this to him? Did they think it was a weakness in the company, a way to cause strife within the group in order to try and make it fall apart, so that at some point one of them would break and tell them everything the elves wanted to know? The dwarf would not put it past them.

'Is he gone?'

Thorin was startled by the advisor's voice. He looked down and saw her smirking up at him. 'You were awake?'

She sat up, wincing when that appeared to be unpleasant for her arm. 'Most of the time,' she admitted. 'You know, you should really stop stealing my words. And tone of voice.' She grinned. 'It's weird. I copied your manners yesterday and you copy mine now. We definitely spend too much time around one another.'

'Why did you pretend to sleep?' Thorin wondered.

Kate rolled her eyes at him. 'You can't be serious. You really think I was going to alert him to the fact that I was awake only to have the whole scene from yesterday all over again? I think I was on the receiving end of the exact same interrogation when he was seeing to my shoulder.' She shuddered. 'It's almost…' She hesitated for a moment. 'It's almost as if he is a collector of oddities and I would be the crowning jewel, the rarest specimen he's ever seen. I would be the collector's item: the woman who clearly lost her mind and married a dwarf. Oh, ladies and gentlemen, come and see for yourselves.'

Thorin tried and failed to bite back the chuckle. It was inappropriate. They were still the elves' captives, but here they were, joking as if this was just another normal day on the road. It was her way of coping, but sometime during the journey it had become his as well. He had spent too much time in her company. In this case it was not a bad thing. They needed to appear close in order to pull this off.

The act made Thorin realise that it was not too much of an act. In fact, it was very close to how they interacted with one another on a daily basis. It was what they did. The only thing they had to add to it was the signs of affection, the occasional holding of hands, him tucking away a lock of hair behind her ear, addressing her as his wife. At some point it was difficult to tell where the act ended and reality began. Maybe that was the danger of choosing an act that was so closely related to what was normal for both of them, yet at the same time was entirely different.

'Stop laughing at me,' she chastised him, playfully whacking him over the head with her uninjured arm. 'He scares the crap out of me, to be honest.' She looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at the elf's retreating back. 'What the hell is his game anyway? What is he trying to achieve?'

Thorin frowned at the elf too. 'I think he might be trying to turn us against one another,' he said. It was the only sane explanation he could think of and the elves were clever enough to play that game and it was not much of a surprise that they sank so low to get what they wanted.

'Then he's barking up the wrong tree,' Kate growled. 'Bloody elves. The more I see of them, the more I'm convinced you were right about them.'

Thorin didn't quite know what to do with those words. Kate's answer that Elvaethor's chances of turning them against each other were non-existent had been immediate. She had not even taken the time to think about it. Well, they were friends, after all. Maybe he should have expected it. Of course she would not allow the quest to be endangered in such a manner, not when its success would be her way of getting home. It was just the determination with which these words had been spoken that took him by surprise. When had she started to feel so passionate about this?

'You are simply in the wrong company,' he told her. 'Had you been with others of your kind, they might have liked you better.' He gave her a wry look. 'There is so much hostility between our people, Catherine. You cannot even begin to understand.' And she had ended up in the very middle of it. She was from another world and this feud, this hostility dated from even long before Thorin was born. It was not fair on her that she had become mixed up in it. But Thorin doubted she would have understood the matter better if she truly had been born in Bree. The race of Men seldom was aware of the troubles of the other races. And she was so young still. How could she see how deep this went?

'Well, I'm starting to,' Kate said. 'And tell you what, I'm glad to be on this side.'

This had him looking at her in disbelief. 'You would rather be a captive?'

Kate snorted. 'Don't be daft,' she told him. 'But that's loyalty for you, isn't it? Besides, I'd rather be with our lot than with that bunch of hypocrites.'

He didn't know why, but it brought a small smile to his face.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _Elves: immortal sentient beings with pointy ears, unearthly beauty, as hypocrite as your average politician and with egos the size of the Big Ben per elf. And they are to judge what should happen to us? Good grief, we're screwed_.

* * *

**Next time we really will meet Thranduil. I needed to get this out of the way first. Anyway, I hoped you all liked this chapter. Please review?**


	46. Chapter 46 Clash of Kings

**Chapter 46**

**Clash of Kings**

_The march to Thranduil's palace was long, tedious and scary at the same time. The long is quite easily explained, I think. We had to cross a large part of Mirkwood to get from the Men-i-Naugrim to the elven settlement on the borders of Mirkwood. There was not a very clear road. It were paths weaving through the forest, sometimes hardly wide enough to let one person pass. It was hard to see the path at all at times, especially in the blasted half-light Mirkwood was bathed in. The elves had no trouble with it at all. They kept up the pace, making us walk until we almost dropped from exhaustion. There was no consideration for our wounded, none at all. Dori had burns on his leg that visibly pained him. Bofur had gotten injured too, as had several others of our company, but those two were definitely the worst. My wounds had been seen to because I was not strictly speaking a dwarf and because I was a woman. That courtesy was not extended to the rest of the company._

_The tedious part I think is pretty self-explanatory as well. The elves didn't talk to us, we were hardly allowed to talk to one another and there were a lot of trees around us. After a while all the trees start to look the same and it becomes almost impossible to tell how long you've been walking and how many days you've been in the dratted forest, because every day is the same. The only conversations we had were at night as we made camp. I was still literally tied to your father, a fact the elves seemed to think terribly amusing, so he was the only one I could really talk to. But we had to mind our words and keep up the act, because talking strategy with elves within hearing distance would be a very foolish thing to do indeed. Bloody elves with their sensitive ears. I swear they could hear it if a squirrel climbed a tree three miles away. And they were always quick enough to slap down any conversation that might discuss the topic of our escape._

_It was scary because we were still in Mirkwood, now having the honour of being my least favourite place in both my own world and Middle Earth, and because of the elves. Galas never passed up an opportunity to threaten or humiliate us and Elvaethor was his creepy self, always watching. It was the kind of stare you can feel, even when you can't see it and it made me positively jumpy. Every night he would look at the wound and redress it, meanwhile trying to interrogate me about my relationship with Thorin, trying to urge me to leave him while I apparently had the chance. He was really trying to cause strife within the group, I realised. It set my teeth on edge and Thorin developed the habit to glare at the elf as if he would like to do nothing better than to bite his head clean off._

_Where Bilbo was we did not quite know at the time. He was possibly still wearing his Ring and trailing after us, but we never saw him, which under the given circumstances was definitely a good thing. I suspected he was there though when one of the elves reported to Galas that some of their supplies seemed to have gone missing all of a sudden. _

'_Burglar indeed,' Thorin muttered when Galas was shouting so loud he would probably drown out any other noise and I smiled, or maybe smirked is the best word to describe it. Truth is that at the time we took great joy in everything that annoyed the elves. It was the only thing we could do to amuse ourselves while we were inconveniently tied up and fortunately Galas did not disappoint in that department. Unfortunately, those little moments never lasted long…_

**Thorin**

Thorin was unable to say how many days had passed since they had been taken captive. He guessed it would be around a week ago, give or take a day or two. The forest seemed to go on forever and Thorin once again realised that the burned part of it was in every way an improvement of what it had been. He found himself wishing for sunlight, moonlight, starlight, _any_ light that wasn't this constant twilight. He had never been claustrophobic, but this forest was doing its best to make him so. The Old Forest Road had been doable. It was relatively wide and it had the added bonus that they had not been the captives of elves when they had travelled on it. The paths they were taking now were sometimes barely visible. The farther north they came, the more eyes he started to see at night, always outside of the camp, but they were there. It was yet another thing Kate's book had been right about.

They should be getting close now. Thranduil's palace could not be far away anymore, not if the map he had in his head was correct.

The road had been steadily rising for the last half day and there was a notion in his head that Thranduil had chosen a set of caves for his palace. Caves were mostly only there when there were mountains as well and since the road was rising, he suspected they were getting close. But he had never been there himself. Thrór had not been particularly fond of the elves, and the same of course could be said for every dwarf living in Erebor at the time, and he had rather that the elves came to them than the other way around. And if it had been within his power, Thorin would never come within fifty miles of this place either, but he did have very little choice in the matter now.

Another thing that gave away how close they were to the elven settlement was the elves' behaviour. They had been grim and taciturn throughout the march, keeping conversation to a bare minimum. Now however they were talking and happy. Mahal help him, they were even starting to sing. They must be close if they were acting in such a manner.

The forest was a little less stifling here as well. The presence of living beings must have kept the sickness of the wood at bay some. The trees were less looming, less dark and there was a little more light here. Thorin supposed he could thank the elves for keeping the darkness away somewhat, but since he was still tied up, he found himself not very inclined to do so. These were his captors and certainly not his friends.

He was still tied to the advisor with that elven rope. Kate still had her left arm in a sling, but whatever it was that the elves had given her, it sped up the healing process considerably. She was not in pain all the time anymore and Thorin was grateful for it, as was Dori. The advisor's brother had even gone as far as to thank the elves for aiding his sister, which was just a bridge too far in Thorin's opinion. Thanking elves? Over his dead body.

'We're near, aren't we?' Kate asked softly. The path was a little broader here and they could walk next to one another.

Thorin nodded. 'I suspect so.' His hands were bound in front of his body again, the ropes a little tighter than necessary just for the purpose of causing him discomfort, because he could just present some danger to their captors if he was allowed to have free use of his hands. He knew himself well enough to know that he would make use of them if only given as much as half a chance.

'Charming,' Kate commented dryly.

But when the palace came into view, it was still a surprise. Suddenly the trees were behind them and they were looking out over a river and behind that was what Kate sarcastically called the lion's den. And it felt like that to Thorin. It may be beautiful, but it would be a maze on the inside, very easy to get lost in, even if they did somehow manage to escape the dungeons Thranduil would surely house them in.

Next to him, Kate shuddered. 'I don't like this,' she muttered.

Well, that made two of them, because this put Thorin's teeth on edge as well, but there was no choice. They were captives. They did not have a say in their own fate anymore, something that vexed him more than he was ready to admit to anyone, not even to himself. No matter how dark the situation had been, no matter how bad things had looked, he had always had a choice. He had always been the master of his own fate. He wasn't so now. The rope around his wrist was a painful reminder of that fact.

'Beautiful, is it not?' Elvaethor had sneaked up on them.

'Can you please stop doing that?' Kate said irritably. 'You may not have realised it, but you scare the crap out of me.' She sent the elf a glare. 'And you annoy the crap out of me as well, so please do me a favour and get lost.'

It may not be the wisest thing to say, but Thorin understood why she acted in such a fashion. Elvaethor had been busy trying to stoke the flames of discord within the group, something he had been unsuccessful in. For all his dislike of dwarves, he seemed to know very little about them. He did not understand that they were fiercely loyal and very close to one another. No one, and especially no elf, would be able to get between them. It was how Mahal had made his children and Thorin was grateful for it.

'I thought a daughter of Men would be able to appreciate such a thing of beauty, even if your husband cannot,' Elvaethor said serenely.

'Appreciate a prison?' Kate scowled. 'You must be insane.' She took Thorin's arm with her right hand to demonstrate the point that she was not going to play that game.

'That's elves for you, lass,' Dwalin commented. He was standing close by. Thorin's friend had not spoken much since they had been taken, but he never wasted an opportunity to get back at the elves either. In a way, that had made him more tolerant towards Kate and Kate more tolerant towards him. Maybe something good did come from their captivity after all.

That of course had been the wrong thing to say. Galas snapped some command in his own tongue and the elves forced them into walking again, ever closer towards that dreaded palace. Everything in Thorin told him to run, as fast as he could, but he could not and so there was no choice but to follow.

He could only hope that the burglar was following them. He had been doing so far, or that was at least what he expected. They had never once seen the burglar, but it had happened quite a few times that some of the elves' food had mysteriously disappeared. It had annoyed Galas to absolutely no end and it had rather amused the company. It also made it clear to Thorin that perhaps the burglar was a better burglar than he had given him credit for. He remembered thinking that quite a lot of time during this quest already. If they ever managed to get out of this prison, he might even need to say it out loud.

The caves of the elves were vastly different from the halls of Erebor. Kate called it elegant, but Thorin just called it unnatural. There had been magic involved in making this palace in the caves. Thorin could feel it. It was in the walls he accidentally touched and it was in the very air he breathed. And it made his skin crawl. It may have its own beauty in a way, but it was not natural, not as it was meant to be. And even though it was vastly different from Rivendell, it more or less felt the same to him. Maybe it was because he was a dwarf and therefore far more sensitive to such things than the woman walking next to him.

Kate, in spite of herself, seemed to be in awe of the palace. She admired it. But then, she had admired Rivendell as well, even if she didn't like its residents. That reassured him somewhat. Kate had spoken the truth when she said she would not side with the elves. He was only strengthened in that view when she sent a dirty look at one of the elves who was ushering her in the right direction.

'Hands off!' she snapped at him.

The elf looked down at her haughtily. 'Your preference is for the dwarf,' he said. 'I had forgotten.' Thorin was as likely to believe that as he was to believe that Smaug would just politely pick up his belongings and leave when they arrived at the Mountain. It was just one of those things they did to vex both Thorin and Kate. It was almost as if they were hoping the dwarf would try to attack them, so that they had a good reason for locking him up. But Thorin knew better than to rise to the challenge. He would however not forget. One day the elves would pay for this.

It was only that thought, and the knowledge that Kate could deal with taunts like this herself, that helped him in not trying something rash. He had better keep his mind on the confrontation that was doubtlessly coming. Thranduil had a long memory and he was not as stupid as his nephew. He would remember Thorin, of that the dwarf had absolutely no doubt. And he feared what that would mean for his company and for him. The book said they would be thrown into the dungeons until they were prepared to tell him what they were doing in Mirkwood.

But in the book it had seemed as if Thranduil had not known them at all and that made the book an unreliable source of information when it came to this. There was no telling what Thranduil would or wouldn't do. And the elf king was not an idiot. As soon as he laid eyes on Thorin he would suspect what their destination was. Thorin of course planned to deny it, going with the story that they were going to the Iron Hills for some kind of trade agreement, but it was almost certain that Thranduil would not believe that story.

And he would never let them go to Erebor when he so feared the dragon that dwelled in it, not when there was the smallest chance of the dwarves not killing the beast, but just kicking him out, for fear he would then come to Mirkwood to burn and plunder. Every sane person of course knew how small the chances of that happening were. Either the dwarves would die or Smaug would die. They would not both live. No matter how much Thorin would like the thought of pointing Smaug in the direction of Mirkwood, that was one scenario that would never happen.

He tried to keep track of which way they were taking, even when he knew that he would never be able to get out the same way they got in. Kate's book stated that there was some very powerful magic on that door that would prevent them from leaving. The barrels mentioned in the story might just prove to be their only way out. It wasn't something Thorin looked particularly forward to, but if it was the only way, he would not hesitate to take it.

The elves only halted in front of a set of huge stone doors that Thorin suspected to be the entrance to Thranduil's throne room. The time was here now and he took a deep breath. He didn't feel like he was ready, but then, he doubted he would ever be ready for this. It just needed to be done and then it would be up to Mr Baggins to get them out, another prospect Thorin did not particularly like. He was used to be the one to organise things. That he would have to wait for a small halfling to do the work for him went against everything he had ever learned. He should, as Kate phrased it, fight his own battles.

'Stay close to me,' he told Kate. The words had left his mouth before he could even begin to check them and he could not for the life of him figure why he said them. If she wanted to be safe, the last thing she needed to do was being close to him. Yes, they had decided to pretend to be a married couple, but in front of Thranduil it would be best for her to keep her distance. So why did he say such a thing? It did not make any sense.

But if Kate thought the request strange, then she didn't say anything. She just gave a pointed look at the rope between them. 'I'm not going anywhere,' she commented wryly. 'Bloody elves.'

Doubtlessly the elves could hear that perfectly, but Kate was not the kind of person to care for their opinions, not when she was in a mood like this. Thorin recognised the signs by now. Her hands were trembling slightly, her breathing was a little more controlled and her face was pale. She was scared, he knew, so she chose to hide behind the best armour she had: sarcasm. It was a protection better than any real armour would be in this situation.

'Move!' Galas snapped at them.

The doors opened before them. Thranduil's nephew was the first one to strut into the hall. There did not seem to be another word that described his way of moving any better. He walked tall, confident and all too pleased with himself. It was obvious that he thought he had done something remarkable. In all honesty it made the dwarf want to throw up.

The elves forced them into the hall. Thorin had meant to enter in a slightly dignified manner, but the elves were doing everything in their power to undermine him in that. One of them, a blonde one he had not heard the name of, deliberately tried to make him trip and fall. He failed, but it was the intention that counted and Thorin knew that full well.

The hostility between elves and dwarves ran very deep. That was common knowledge. It had to do with a war in the First Age, a war Thorin's people had nothing to do with in the first place, but that was a fact Thranduil conveniently seemed to have forgotten all about. To him all dwarves were the same. To him they were all bad, all greedy, and all very eager to kill elves when they got as much as half a chance. Thorin would have to plead guilty on the last accusation at the moment, but it was not his default setting, as these pointy-eared tree lovers seemed to think.

There was some natural light in this cave, so it would be safe to say that this was still above the ground. It was the bright, unfiltered light of day, not the constant twilight that ruled the realm everywhere else. He would have been relieved had he seen this in any other place. As it was, it only made him feel very ill at ease.

Because at the far end of this hall was the throne and Thorin recognised the occupant of aforementioned throne without effort. It was the very same elf who had looked on and did nothing when Smaug had sacked the Mountain and killed so many of its people. Thranduil had not changed. He looked exactly the same as the last time Thorin had laid eyes on him. He radiated power with every fibre of his being. But there was ice as well and not just in his eyes. The presence was almost just as strong as the power and it made a shiver go down his spine. If he was looking for mercy, he had come to the wrong place. It would not be granted to him in this place.

Next to him stood his son, looking just as unforgiving as his royal father and with his hand just a tad bit too casually on a knife he had tucked into his belt. Thorin had seen Legolas before, when Thranduil had visited the Mountain, but as far as the dwarf could see he was not any less arrogant or haughty. But then, what had he expected? Arrogant was the elves' default setting.

'My lord,' Galas said, sounding far too pleased with himself. He didn't even halt before he addressed his uncle. 'I found the culprits for the fire on the Men-i-Naugrim.'

Thranduil gave them a fleeting glance. 'Dwarves,' he said, managing to convey his opinion about the entire race with just that one word. 'How… fitting.'

Thorin had to remind himself that reacting to this might just sign all of their death warrants. He had to watch his tongue here. But it was hard to be so looked down upon, both literally and figuratively. They were nothing to these elves, and they did their best to make them feel it. And Thorin's people were a proud people, despite their exile. To be treated with such contempt was infuriating. There was only so much they could take.

It was Kate's hand on his arm that brought him to his senses. 'He wants you to react,' she reminded him in a whisper. 'Don't give him the satisfaction.' It was the advice he had given to her in Goblin-town. They had been giving it to one another since on several occasions. And now he found he needed the reminder in order not to do something rash. He felt frightened, but that was a feeling he suppressed. Thranduil would want him to be intimidated and he was not playing that game.

So now he settled for a dignified silence, seeking out the elf's eyes and meeting them as calmly as he could. If Thranduil wanted them to be scared, he would show that he was not. It might even be the best way to handle this.

A smile graced the elf king's lip. 'Not just any dwarf, I see,' he commented.

Galas was quick to try and respond. He may be an idiot if Thorin had ever seen one and a violent man beyond the shadow of a doubt, but when it came to his uncle, he was like an eager puppy, begging for his master's approval. 'His name is…' he began.

Thranduil did not give him the time to finish. 'Thorin, son of Thráin, son of Thrór of the line of Durin,' he finished. 'It would not be that hard to guess what would bring you to these parts.' He rose from his throne. 'There is only one reason why you are not on the other side, the _right_ side, of the Misty Mountains, King under the Mountain.' The title was spoken in a mocking tone of voice, as if he wanted to emphasise the fact that Thorin was no longer king of any mountain whatsoever. He could have done without the rather painful reminder.

He contemplated telling the elf the lie he had decided on with Kate, but found that he could not tell it. Thranduil already knew why he was here. It was more than just an educated guess. He _knew_. And Thorin may already be humiliated far worse than he felt he was able to take, but he had some pride and dignity left. He would not be exposed as more of a liar than he already was. They would end up in the dungeons for this either way, no matter what they did. He might as well do it with dignity.

'Then I would ask of you not to hinder me and my company any further,' he said. It didn't take him much trouble to meet the elf's eyes defiantly. 'All we did was seek passage through your lands.'

Thranduil scoffed. 'And risk that you reach the Lonely Mountain?' he asked. 'You know I cannot allow for that to happen. My people have lived in peace for many years. We would not see that peace destroyed.'

The anger was rising swiftly now. He remembered that this was exactly what the elf wanted him to do, but he could not truly bring himself to care. Thranduil was a coward, and he had broken every oath he had ever sworn when he abandoned Durin's Folk and the people of Dale when the dragon invaded Erebor and turned Dale into ash. 'You would not see the rightful king return to the Mountain.' It was more than just an accusation; this was the stating of a fact. 'Your oaths still demand of you to aid us in our quest.' This was a very dangerous game he was playing. Thorin knew that. But he was a king and he had every right to ask this of the elves, even though he was bound. Thranduil was in the wrong here and he would well know it.

Thranduil appeared to remain unmoved, but his son was responding, if only by the tensing of his posture. He looked almost uneasy, as if he knew full well that Thorin was justified in talking the way he did. It would seem that the son at least was somewhat decent, even if the father was anything but. The dwarf only waited for him to act on the unease he displayed, but it was gone after only a moment and he remained silent, face neutral but alert again.

The elf king however had displayed no unease or signs of giving in whatsoever. 'I owe you nothing,' Thranduil said dismissively. 'Not when you and yours,' his eyes took in the sight of the company, 'are responsible for burning my realm.' There may be a smile on his face, but his eyes were ice-cold.

'Oh, there we go again,' a voice muttered. Thorin had almost forgotten about the advisor's presence, which was strange, taken into account that she was still tied to him. 'You know, we're fine too, thank you very much for asking.'

It was just the kind of comment she would make in situations like these, but it was also the stupidest thing she could have done under the given circumstances. For now she had Thranduil's undivided attention. His gaze went from Thorin to the human woman and his eyebrows rose in something that may or may not be surprise – it was always hard to tell with elves. 'A woman,' he remarked. 'And what is she doing here?'

It was the moment of truth – or the moment of lies, depending on the perspective one chose. There was no going back on the agreed story now. 'She's my wife,' he told the elf, praying that this would not be the biggest mistake he had made in a long time.

**Kate**

Kate felt as if the elf could see right through her when he directed his gaze at her. He radiated danger, something she found most unnerving. The look he favoured her with reminded her strongly of Elvaethor. He was looking at her as if she was some kind of collector's item. She knew that this was what they had agreed upon. It might not be the ideal solution for the problem, but it was the best solution they had. It would not make sense for an unmarried woman to travel with a group of dwarves. It would be most inappropriate. Beorn had not seemed to care much, but he was a man who mostly just minded his own business, so she had not expected him to care. But the elves were nothing like Beorn. They were of a completely different race and, as Kate now discovered, different from her own in ways that had not been so obvious in the Rivendell elves.

The elves of Rivendell had been kind and also very different from the race of Men, but they had been good. The elves of Mirkwood may be good – after all they were not on Sauron's side – but not in every way. They were cold, or at least the elves she had encountered so far were. And Thranduil was by far the worst of the lot.

Kate had not seen very much of him so far and the movie and book were not very much of a help either. All she really had were Thorin's stories and those did not really make for an objective picture. But in the few short minutes she had been observing him she had learned more about him than Thorin's tales could have done.

Proud, she thought, he was, in the extreme. It was evident from the way he looked, spoke and walked. Pleased with himself, she added to the list as he first glanced at the company, bordering on arrogant. She instantly deleted _bordering on_ when he first opened his mouth. The elf king was arrogant and there was no denying that little fact. Cold, too, merciless probably. There was no compassion and he was angry about them burning his forest, but his anger, so like Thorin's in many ways, was freezing ice, not raging fire. Kate remembered thinking that the elves would not be pleased and now realised that this had been something of an understatement. Thranduil controlled his anger well, but it was there, only just underneath the surface. He was more than just displeased. And he was selfish too. He used a lot of fancy words to disguise the fact that he was scared as hell that Smaug would come to Mirkwood and burn it. Selfish and cowardly.

And cunning. Kate added that to the mental list when the elf king eyed her after Thorin had announced she was his wife. Thranduil was not an idiot. He may have many bad qualities and he may fail completely as a king, but he was intelligent, extremely so, and Kate felt as if he was looking right through her, which was not a pleasant feeling at all.

_Get a grip, Andrews_, she told herself sternly. _Pull yourself together. You have to pull off this act. So act the part. Pretend you're royalty. Thranduil needs to believe you're married to a king. Act like a queen._

Fortunately she had seen Thorin do his kingly act more than once, although admittedly mostly when he was pulling rank in an argument with her, which annoyed her to no end. But their many fights now made it easier to straighten up and meet the elf's eyes calmly. She conveniently ignored the fact that she was still holding Thorin's arm as if her very life depended on it. It was part of the act, she told herself. She was not doing this because she was scared. She wasn't.

'Your wife?' Thranduil asked incredulously. 'How… rare.'

'I was not aware my choice of wife is any concern of yours,' Thorin growled. Kate had the strong suspicion that if his hands had not been tied, he would have cheerfully done the elf some physical damage. Dori, behind her, could be heard to make similar noises and Dwalin looked like was standing on a hedgehog, ready to jump as soon as it appeared the elf would do harm to his king.

The king ignored Thorin. He didn't even look at him. He still had not let his gaze wander away from Kate's face. 'It would be extremely rare for a dwarf to marry a daughter of the race of Men,' he observed. 'Unheard of. Especially for dwarf royalty.' Something that might have been called a smirk – were it not that no elf could ever really smirk – graced his face. 'Maybe your standards have become lower during your exile. Regrettable of course.'

The growling emerging from Dori's throat, and possibly Nori's as well, intensified. It must be that protective older brother instinct getting the upper hand again. And Thranduil was insulting her as well as Thorin. It was a clever thing to do, because it made all of them mad, but it was a very low thing to do as well and Kate found herself wishing to bash a certain elf's head against a wall. She had not expected these Mirkwood elves to do a happy dance around the palace when they met, but she had expected them to be more polite, more noble than they were thus far. This, this was just rude, nothing else.

And it did make her angry, beyond the shadow of a doubt. 'Then I wonder what can be said about your manners,' she snapped.

Thranduil only seemed amused. Apparently his ego was so thick that neither righteous indignity nor insult could pierce through it. 'What is your name, woman?' he demanded.

'Catherine, daughter of John,' she replied. She had practised this lie so often in the last week that she could say it without blinking or thinking. And this, technically, was not a lie. Her full name was Catherine and her father's name was John. Now for the hardest part. 'I am from Bree.' This was the actual lie, but it went off without a hitch.

'Indeed?' the elf king said. One corner of his mouth curled up. 'I have never seen you there.'

For a moment Kate was in danger of freezing into place. Thranduil had been in Bree? She could not even begin to think what he wanted there, but if he had really been there, then her lie would soon be exposed as one, because of course she had not come from there. They had just chosen the place because she at least vaguely knew what it looked like, because it would fit in nicely with their agreed cover story and because elves never came there.

And then it hit her. Thranduil had never been there either. He was testing her. That sly bastard with his shady elvish games. 'That is because you have never been there,' she countered. 'And Mahal be praised for that.' It certainly could not hurt to throw in Mahal's name. It would only enforce the idea that she was truly a part of this company of dwarves.

The subtlety wasn't lost on the elf. The other corner of his mouth joined in the smile. 'You are smarter than most of your race.'

'I don't believe you have met many of my race at all,' Kate shot back.

This was something she was good at, sparring with words, but there had never been so much malice behind them. When she had argued with Thorin it had been in earnest and both had been angry, but she had never been in any danger. This, this was a far more dangerous game. If she made one mistake, just the one, he would see through her and she might be dead. The stakes were so much higher this time. And yet she found she relished the chance.

_Get a grip, girl. Sort your priorities_. 'Your remark proves that you are more ignorant than I would have believed possible.' It wasn't wise, but she didn't seem to be able to check her words. This was the fear speaking, using hurtful words to keep his hurtful words at bay. 'But then, I suppose that's what happens when you lock yourself away in this magic-infested castle.'

Because she had felt it, the magic. There was something unnatural about this place. It had been in Rivendell too and it had felt like a beautiful thing, a friendly thing. The same was true for this palace. Maybe it was just because it was elvish magic that it felt good, because it clearly did not mirror the resident's character.

Thranduil's eyes flashed in what she thought might be anger, but she could not be certain. She might have been mistaken, because it was gone before she could get a decent look. The elf now turned to Thorin. 'You burned the woods.'

Thorin looked singularly unimpressed. It was strange that he had never looked so kingly, so royal before, even though he was bound. Or maybe it was because he was bound. He was rising above this, giving off the message that in essence his captivity did not rob him of his title. Although with Thorin it was more than just a title. He was a king and he was going up against an equal, not against his jailer. They may be as different kings as kings could be, but kings they were.

It made her wonder about the differences. Thranduil was a real king, no one in his senses would try to deny that. He was powerful and strong, a leader, even if he spent most of his time warming the seat of his throne. A passive king he was, Kate decided. He sat on his backside and didn't do very much. He didn't like to get his hands dirty. Every story she had ever heard about him only strengthened that view.

Thorin was the exact opposite; the first to attack in battle, the last to retreat. Throughout the journey she had heard a great many stories about what he had done and sacrificed for his people. He had experienced his people's sorrow and troubles as his own and now he was risking his life to take back his homeland for them. He may be annoying and infuriating, even now that they were friends, but the fact that he was so bloody noble made it rather difficult to remain angry with him indefinitely.

So here she was, firmly on his side. She had even sworn that she would make this quest her own. And she did not regret it, not even when she might get thrown into some kind of dungeon in the near future. For some reason it almost felt as if she belonged with these dwarves and that frightened her more than she was ready to admit to anyone.

'The orcs burned your woods,' Thorin replied. The words seemed to come from between clenched teeth.

'There are no orcs in my realm,' Thranduil said calmly. He clearly was taking this as some kind of pathetic excuse.

'Not anymore,' Kate said. 'Azog the Defiler. Does that name ring any bells?'

The brief flash of alarm on the elf king's face told her that it did.

'He was in your woods.' Thorin seemed to sense where she was going with this. That was yet another thing that was a clear sign that their friendship was growing. Lately they seemed to be getting better at reading the other's mood and intentions. 'Until a week ago we met him.'

'There are no orcs in this realm.' Thranduil was still in denial.

'Like I said, not anymore,' Kate said. 'My husband put an end to Azog's defiling days.' _You might thank us for that by setting us free and letting us go on our merry way_. She didn't say that, though. It would be much too obvious. And he would never let them go, because he knew where they were headed. And that was something he was clearly not prepared to risk. He did not want them going anywhere near the Mountain for fear Smaug would come bearing down on him to burn the rest of this blasted forest. By now Kate was quite ready to point Smaug in the right direction. Heaven knew Thranduil deserved the lesson. Let his people go into exile because of a fire drake and see how well they liked it. It might even have the added bonus that it would force Thranduil to finally grow up and grow himself a sense of realism, because that did seem in short supply with him. And in her opinion a burned Mirkwood was an improvement either way, because it could not be worse than it was now.

'You have a bold tongue, Catherine, daughter of John,' the elf remarked icily.

'It is not my fault that you do not like the truth that I speak,' she countered.

The elf king now turned to Thorin. 'You should teach your wife some manners,' he told him.

'My wife speaks what she likes,' Thorin replied calmly. 'And we are of a mind in this.'

His words surprised her, but not too much. It was after all just a part of the act, something they had agreed on. But it was also something that had begun to happen for real with them. It had happened with their small war council. Balin and Dwalin had been looking at them incredulously, because they had agreed about something so quickly and without using too much words. It was understanding on a much deeper level. Kate could not even pinpoint when it had begun, but it worked, for both of them.

'Are you accusing me of letting orcs wander into my kingdom?' There was a threat in his voice and Kate inwardly cringed. This was escalating.

'No, I am accusing you of not keeping a better watch on your roads.' Thorin too seemed to be getting into the grip of the anger. He may be much smaller than the elf he was facing, but he had no less authority and Kate would bet that Thranduil could feel it. It was a very interesting thing to see, because it looked like neither of them would back down. That would be admitting defeat and no elf would let himself be beaten by a dwarf just as no dwarf with a shred of self-respect would bow to an elf. But she knew where this was headed, because Thranduil had the upper hand. He didn't need them to bow to him, because he could simply order that they be thrown into the dungeons and be done with it. There was only one outcome possible, unless some miracle happened to whisk them away from here and the chances of that happening were non-existent.

'Apparently I should have kept a closer eye on my border.' The elf king's tone of voice was suddenly rather pleasant again, a change Kate, and every other dwarf in the room with her, did not trust. The elf hated dwarves – and consequently her as well, since she in his eyes was one of them through her supposed marriage – so he would not be nice to them if he could help it. There was something coming and it would be safe to say that this something would be nasty. 'Had I been playing closer attention I might have realised that you had come to my lands, Thorin… Oakenshield.' For some reason he spoke the last word in that mocking tone of voice. Kate did not know why, but she doubted it meant well. 'Out of curiosity, were you planning to fight a dragon with a wooden shield?'

_Stay out of this_, common sense advised her. Getting involved might make things only worse, for she doubted she would be able to check her words. She was just too angry with this elf and most of his subjects now to think reasonably. And to be quite honest, she wasn't sure she wanted to be reasonable. A large part of her wanted to shout, to drown out the fear that was making itself at home in her heart. Because the truth was that she did not want to go to the dungeons. What if Bilbo hadn't followed them in here? And even if he had come in with them, would he be able to free them and get them out of this place before the elves realised that something was amiss? She had learned long ago not to trust the book unconditionally. It was too unpredictable and the same could apparently be said about the elves. And events in real life were already vastly different from the events as they were described in the book. The outcome therefore should be slightly different as well. That would only be logical, she imagined, but it did make her afraid and it was terribly hard not to show that fear. She would not give the elves the satisfaction.

'How I intend to reclaim my kingdom is not a concern of yours,' Thorin replied curtly, which was the only right answer in Kate's opinion. It was also the only answer they could reasonably give, because as far as she was aware no real plans had been made. The focus so far had been on getting to the Mountain first and that was proving to be enough trouble as it was, especially since Thranduil did not seem to plan on letting them go.

'Ah, but that is where you are wrong, Thorin, son of Thráin,' Thranduil said. 'Because it is a concern of mine. I cannot risk that the dragon will come to my lands. I have to think of my people.'

_Which, presumably, was why you didn't lift a finger on the day the Mountain fell_, Kate thought. She was clever enough not to speak the words out loud this time.

'Our plans are to _kill_ the dragon,' Thorin countered icily. 'And you are still bound by oath to aid my people in their need. I demand that you let us go and leave the worrying about how to slay a dragon to us.'

Kate wondered if he was even aware that he was copying her words and tone of voice. She didn't think he was. He was focused on this word game with every fibre of his being and despite the hopelessness of it all, he was still trying to come out victorious. It was maybe a foolish thing to do, but Kate admired him for it. He was still fighting for his people, despite the fact that he was doomed to lose the fight before it had even properly begun. He inspired loyalty when he was not being a taciturn and grumpy bastard, she realised.

'I cannot let you journey on,' Thranduil said.

'It is not within your right to hinder us,' Thorin said in a low voice that spelled trouble for whoever it was directed against. 'This is our quest and ours alone. I do not ask for aid, but I do demand free passage.'

'You _demand_?' This served to well and truly enrage the elf. 'You are not in a position to demand.'

'I am.' From anyone else it would just sound like a childish contradiction, but not from Thorin. He was angry, feeling wronged and treated unjustly, but the words were calm and at the same time filled with an authority Kate herself had always great difficulty with to disobey. Here was a king demanding the loyalty and aid he was owed. She found she respected him for it. This, she realised, was the kind of man she could follow.

_Oh, good grief, you're turning into Balin now_, her brain commented. But she meant it. Thorin was in the right and to follow him would be the right thing to do. Because he was a leader. And he was a friend as well and she stood by her friends.

Thranduil clearly did not seem to know what to do with this, probably because he knew that Thorin was justified in asking what he did. 'I would have your word that you returned to the Ered Luin and never again came here,' the elf said eventually.

He must know already that Thorin would rather die a painful and slow death before he swore to such a thing. They had come too close now. No elf would make him turn back from his chosen path at this point, especially not one who he had no respect for whatsoever. And maybe the elf had anticipated that and if that was the case, he was making use of it.

'You will have no such promise from my lips,' Thorin vowed. 'I would rather die.'

_Don't give him any ideas_, Kate thought, glancing around her nervously. She had no doubt that Galas for one would have no problems complying with such a thing. He had been sending murderous glances in Thorin's direction every once in a while and Kate had seen his face when he realised that he had been taken for a fool and had then been made to look like one by believing Thorin's false name. And he wasn't the only dwarf-hating elf in the room, she was sure.

'Then that is what you might do before you will be let out of the cells, even if it takes a hundred years,' Thranduil said venomously. He looked at the guards that were stationed in the room. 'Take them away.'

Kate felt a cold shiver go down her spine.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _God help us all._

* * *

**I hope you liked this. Thranduil is rather difficult to write. **

**On another note, you'll have to make do without the Wednesday chapter this week. I'm going on a five day trip to Berlin this week, so updating might be difficult then, but I'll be back by Sunday, so then I'll update again.**

**And for those of you who missed it, I posted a new one-shot in Duly Noted yesterday.**

**Next time: Thorin and Kate in the dungeon. Until then, please review?**


	47. Chapter 47 First Kiss

**Chapter 47**

**First Kiss**

_Getting dragged away from the throne room was no fun, that I can promise you, dears. In fact it may have been one of the most terrifying things during the quest. Azog had scared me to near death and I can't say that getting chased by wargs is any fun either, but I at least had some measure of control over what happened to me then. There was no control then. My left arm was still useless and I was still tied to Thorin, which lessened my opportunities to defend myself considerably._

_Fortunately, no matter how much trouble you lot are capable of getting yourselves into from time to time, none of you have ever gotten yourself locked into a cell in Thranduil's dungeons – at least, not that I know of – and I am grateful for small mercies. But at least Jack has some prison experience – even if it is only for being a drunken lunatic on the streets of Dale – so you can relate to how humiliating it is to be dragged away and locked up. And we weren't even drunk._

_It was humiliating. Dwarves are physically stronger than elves, but that did not count for very much, because there were still arrows pointed at our heads, just in case we were thinking about escaping, which of course we were. I may not be much of a fighter, have never been really, but I was not about to let a bunch of elves lock me away if I could fight against it._

_Fighting however would only succeed in either getting myself injured or killed and I had been injured enough for a lifetime, I'd say. So I let our captors do whatever they wanted, even if I really wanted to do nothing more than to struggle. But that was one of those moments when you realise that sometimes you have to choose your battles and it was not worth choosing one that I was already doomed to lose, no matter how infuriating that knowledge. _

_Thranduil's dungeons were situated under his palace, far underground. I had never been claustrophobic, but the deeper we came, the stronger the urge became to turn around and find some fresh air. Admittedly these caves were not as filthy – not at all actually – as the ones we'd seen in Goblin-town and they looked less threatening as well, but it's rather hard to see the beauty of a place when you're about to be imprisoned in it and you realise just how difficult it is going to be to escape from aforementioned place._

_They split up the company into small groups as we went along, making sure our job of escaping would be even more difficult than it would already have been, even if we had been kept together. I could only hope that the real Bilbo was as resourceful as the one in the book, because this truly would be a job for an expert burglar. An amateur didn't even stand a chance of pulling this off. And it made me very worried, because while I knew what happened in the book, I had also come to learn that the story was no guarantee for real life. Real life just did what it wanted and it had no consideration for what the characters featuring in it wanted or needed. It had been a hard lesson to learn, and a painful one at times, but by the time we had met Thranduil I knew it well._

_And it wasn't any help in trying to control the panic that was fighting to overwhelm me…_

**Thorin**

The dungeon door being locked behind them did nothing whatsoever to calm Thorin's already frayed nerves and apparently it did nothing to calm Kate's either. The elves at least had the decency not to separate them, although Thorin suspected this was more for Kate's sake than for his. They would probably have liked nothing better than to lock him up alone with no one to talk to, but since the elves thought Kate belonged with him, they had let her stay. They even seemed to think it amusing.

'Bloody elves,' Kate muttered under her breath. They had not removed the rope that tied them together and now that she had the chance, she tried to undo the knots in it. 'What the hell did they think they were doing?'

Thorin sat down on the straw mattress. 'They're elves,' he told her, an explanation in and out of itself. 'That is what they do.'

And that was the case. They enmity between their two races dated back to the First Age. There had been better days, but things had always been tense between elves and dwarves. Thranduil did not make it any better and neither did his fear of Smaug. Thorin knew the elf king held his entire race responsible for crimes committed by another dwarf clan two ages ago. He seemed to think those things had happened because it was in the nature of dwarves to do such things and therefore the entire race was to blame and, apparently, punishable.

What could he possibly do to make that arrogant king see sense? The depressing answer to that question was that there was just nothing, nothing whatsoever, to change the current situation. Thranduil's beliefs were too deep-rooted. And that was why they were here now, deep down in his dungeons. It had to be one of the lowest levels, Thorin guessed. They were far away from daylight. Even if they could miraculously break out of this cell, it would be a long way to the surface yet.

With something of a shock he realised he was close to giving up. He was trapped in a cell, powerless and tired beyond belief. The march to the palace had been tiring and he had not been able to sleep much at night for worrying about the confrontation with Thranduil and what would happen to them after. He didn't think he could sleep anyway and whatever rest he had gotten in the past week or so had been short hours of sleep he had been able to snatch throughout the night, never longer than three hours in a night. He suspected it was often less.

And now here he was, physically and mentally drained after his confrontation with an enemy he almost feared more than the dragon. This enemy certainly had been on his mind a lot more than Smaug had been lately. And if they ever managed to get away from this dreadful place, Thorin was sure that it would be child's play to kill that fire drake that had occupied his home for far longer than he had any right to. After the elves and Azog any ordeal would pale in comparison.

He leaned his head against the rock, taking some comfort in the familiarity of rock under and behind him. It was the natural result of being a dwarf, he imagined. It was better than the woods at any rate, more familiar, he supposed. Even though this was an elven dungeon, he was still underground and that was where his race belonged.

The occasional tugging on the rope around his waist indicated that Kate was still doing battle with the knots in it. Thorin looked up and saw that he was right. She had seated herself a little distance away from him and was now was busy trying to get the rope to do as she wanted, a deep frown etched into her forehead. There was not much light in this cell – just the little coming in from the torch that was burning in the corridor outside – and Kate still had her left arm in a sling. The wound had been healing faster than it should have because of those strange elvish medicines, but it was not completely healed yet. And now the sling was hindering her movements.

'Leave it be, Catherine,' he told her. What use would it be anyway? Glaring at the rope would not make it burn away, nor would the knots come undone any faster, if they would come undone at all, something Thorin rather doubted.

'Shut up,' Kate snapped. 'It's not that I dislike you or anything, but this is rather embarrassing when one of us need to relieve themselves. And I'm tired of that.'

That was something the dwarf could understand, very much so. It had been embarrassing enough during the journey. Thorin himself did not have too much trouble with that, but Kate valued her private space, he had come to learn, and she had not had very much of that lately. He understood that she needed to be alone a little, or as much as she could be when they were still so obviously trapped.

'I see,' he said.

Kate nodded. 'Good.' She looked down at the sling and then shed it. 'Bloody thing,' she muttered.

'Elvaethor might protest,' Thorin pointed out.

'Elvaethor can put that sling where the sun doesn't shine,' the advisor countered. 'I'm done wearing it. And do I actually look like I care what that idiot says? I have heard nothing but rubbish coming out of his mouth since we met him.'

Thorin could not suppress a smile as she attacked the rope with renewed determination. 'You are right,' he observed. The only sensible thing the elf had said had probably been closely linked to his medical advice. The rest was either unreliable or nonsense. He only had to remember the story he had told about their swords and everything that had followed from it. Rubbish seemed an apt description of Elvaethor's words.

'Again,' Kate observed. She shook her head. 'The way they're all acting, it just makes my skin crawl. I didn't think there would be very many differences between our races at first, because there does not seem to be too many differences between yours and mine, but the elves… They're entirely alien.'

Thorin arched an eyebrow in disbelief. 'You do not think there are many differences between our races?' He didn't think he'd ever heard something that ridiculous.

'I didn't say there were none,' she reminded him. 'It's just that there are more similarities than differences. We're both very down to earth, a part of this world, while the elves always give me the impression that they don't really are of this earth. There's something unearthly about them. I'm not saying that we are the same, just closer than we are with elves. And I bet we both hate this bloody piece of rope!' She gave a fruitless and frustrated tug at it.

That was undeniable and Thorin found himself smiling in spite of himself. 'It's elvish rope, Catherine,' he reminded her. 'I do not think there is anything we can do to make it change its mind.'

He had hardly finished saying that when Kate interrupted him. '_Yes_!' she hissed triumphantly. 'Got you.'

'What…?' Thorin asked, but then he saw. Somehow the knot seemed to have come loose while both of them had been talking and now the advisor was ridding herself of the thing that had kept them together for the last week. 'You did it.'

'Einstein, your observational skills are exceptional,' she commented sarcastically. Thorin did not know who this Einstein was, but for some reason he doubted this had been a compliment. 'One knot down, two to go.'

It took him a few seconds to realise that she meant to untie him as well. He had expected her to get herself untied and leave it at that. For some reason he had never thought that she would proceed to free him as well as herself, in the unlikely case that she managed to rid herself of her own bonds. 'Why would you do that?' he wondered.

He got an eye roll in response. 'Did you think you would be able to undo the knots around your wrists all by yourself or were you planning to sit there with your hands tied until kingdom come?' she asked sarcastically. 'Don't be stupid, will you? It doesn't suit you, if I'm quite honest.'

Thorin frowned, even though the woman could not see it; her gaze was focused on the rope that tied his wrists together. She had not interpreted his words in the way he had expected her to. She had seemingly not even thought about him being surprised about her offering and, in hindsight, she might even be right to think like that. They were friends. She would offer to do such a thing for a friend. Thorin knew he would do it for her as well if their roles had been reversed.

He did not even know himself why he was so taken aback by her actions. Maybe it was because her friendship felt like such an unlikely thing to him, even after several weeks and several ordeals. They had been through hell and they had made it through alive and relatively well, closer friends than they had been before. It was a strange notion, but it left him with a warm feeling inside.

Kate's fingers were cool against his skin as she tugged and struggled with the knots, the frown back on her forehead as she concentrated. 'They do like to be thorough, don't they?' she commented. 'Yes, I've got it.'

And he felt it. The moment she said it, the cord was looser and he could shed his bonds on the floor of the cell. It felt good to have his hands back to himself. It had been a most unpleasant feeling to have that last bit of freedom taken away from him and now he had it back, he felt a little more confident that they might just stand a chance to see this through after all. And that was a most welcome feeling indeed.

'Thank you,' he said with a curt nod.

'You're welcome,' Kate replied, turning her attention to the rope around his waist.

'I can do that,' Thorin told her.

He was rewarded with a dismissive snort. 'My fingers are slimmer,' the advisor pointed out. 'I'll have a much easier job than you. Let me?' There was some hesitance in her voice now, even if the dwarf did not know where that had come from so suddenly.

'If you please,' he said. She was right of course. His fingers were thicker than hers. They might not get grip on that slippery thing the elves used for rope. He just did not expect her to deal with that last obstacle as well, since it did not really tie him to anything or restricted his movements in any way.

'It does come loose rather quickly,' she observed. 'Strange really. I have been pulling at it for days and it didn't give any signs of giving way and now all it takes is a few gentle tugs for the knot to fall apart.' She shook her head. 'That has magic written all over it.'

Thorin would agree. She was right. This did sound like elvish magic. And in its own way it even made sense. There was no use for the rope to hold them any longer – they had nowhere to run to in this confined space – and therefore it allowed them to untie it. It was a rather unnerving thing.

And true to expectations this last knot took hardly two minutes work at all. 'Done,' the advisor declared. 'I don't know about you, but I do feel better now.'

He nodded again. He would not admit to that within hearing distance of anyone, but it was good to have some measure of liberty, even if it was only as far as to have use of his hands again. It was a good thing to feel, a ray of light in an otherwise very dark situation. 'It is good,' he admitted.

'So,' Kate said. 'What now?' She looked around her. 'What are we going to do now?' She sounded a bit forlorn, not as if she had given up all hope, but more like she didn't know what to do next. And there was exhaustion present as well. Thorin had been close to her these last few nights – not that he had any choice in the matter – and he knew she had slept better than he had, but not much. Most nights she had been lying still, staring into the darkness, he presumed. To an unsuspecting onlooker she would look like she was sleeping, but Thorin had recognised the signs, the subtle difference in her breathing. And she was a restless sleeper too. She never lay that still when she was truly asleep.

'Get some rest,' Thorin decreed. Thranduil was not going to chop off their heads anytime soon. Thorin had not expected him to either. The elf king was many things, but he was not a violent man, so unlike his nephew. He would like to deal with this without any bloodshed. All he wanted was for Thorin to head back the way he came. And what need was there to kill them when it was so easy for him to keep them all locked in his dungeon? Mr Baggins had better be good at those burglar skills of his or they'd be here until the world ended and he didn't find himself looking forward to such a thing.

Kate glanced around her, noticing that the only mattress and blanket were the ones they were currently seated on. 'Well, you take the mattress,' she said. 'I've still got my cloak, so I should not get cold anytime soon.'

Was she serious? 'Did you think the need to act ended the moment we were led from Thranduil's throne room?' he questioned. And that was leaving the fact that he would never make a woman sleep on the floor while he took the mattress out of his consideration. What was she thinking?

'Didn't it?' Kate countered. 'There isn't a single elf anywhere near. We might as well make use of it while we can.'

How naïve she was and how Thorin envied her for that. If only things could be as simple as she believed them to be, how ideal his life would be. But things were seldom this simple. 'What do you think an elven guard would think if he saw us lying so far apart?' Had she truly not thought of this?

Naïve she may be, but she was no fool and her mind was sharp. 'He'd find it suspicious,' she nodded. 'Might think this whole true love story we've been telling them is nothing more than a story after all. _Shit_!'

At least she had caught on. 'We need to act the part,' he told her, no more pleased with this development than she was. He was confused enough by where the two of them were standing without complicating things even more by letting her sleep so close by his side. Admittedly, they had done so more or less already after their capture – even if they had carefully kept some distance between them – but with so many people around it had not felt very intimate. There were no people around now. It was just the two of them and possibly the occasional guard. Thorin found that suddenly he was something that might be called nervous. 'There's only one mattress here. It would be suspicious not to share.'

He didn't think he had said anything inappropriate, but Kate narrowed her eyes at him. 'If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting…'

Thorin was not the man to blush, but if he had been, he'd have done it then. She could not truly be thinking he would be taking advantage of her like that, could she? Mahal help him, but there were limits to his acting skills. 'I am not,' he told her sternly, cutting off that train of thought. He did _not_ want to go there.

Kate nodded. 'Good. Because if you did, you'd be singing soprano within the hour.'

The joke did it for him. She had said the same thing in that cave in the Misty Mountains and the thought had been as amusing then as it was now. Nevertheless he found it difficult to believe that she had thought him capable of doing such a thing. 'It disappoints me that you think that of me.' He could hardly help his disapproving tone of voice. 'But if we do not act the part, we'll be as good as dead. These elves are waiting for an excuse to permanently get rid of us already and we're supposed to have married for love, headstrong woman.' That had been the story they had agreed on and now they needed to keep to it. It was bad enough to have been caught on one lie already. 'Surely even you can tell what needs to be done?' he asked of her. He would not call it pleading, but it might be close to it.

To his relief the advisor nodded. 'Shove over then,' she said. 'And remember, the threat still holds.'

Thorin chuckled. It was one of those standard jokes between them and he had come to appreciate it. It was a way of coping, and not just for her anymore. Sometime during his journey he had adopted some of her manners and her humour as well. In return the icy behaviour he sometimes noticed with Kate when she was getting angry was something he recognised from himself. They were so different and yet so alike at the same time. For some reason it frightened him somewhat.

He did as Kate had asked and moved over a bit so that she could lie down as well. From one moment to the next the atmosphere in the cell had become rather awkward and Thorin almost found himself wishing for company, because then it would not be like this. Even Dori and his fussing would do now. He just did not want to be truly alone with Kate, not because he disliked her, but because he feared he may be starting to like her more than he should.

He shook his head to get rid of the thought. What was he even thinking? Was he, Thorin Oakenshield, descendent of Durin, really in danger of loving a human woman from another world, a woman who would return to that world first chance she got? It could not be. And he had more pressing matters on his mind than pondering their non-existent relationship. Kate would probably tell him to sort out his priorities and she'd be right too.

The advisor reluctantly took the spot Thorin had just vacated. 'Well, good night then,' she said. Thorin didn't look at her, but she sounded resigned. Was sharing a mattress with him really so horrible that she felt this way? Thorin didn't know why, but it made him sad that she would shy away even after everything they had been through. Or maybe she too had felt the awkwardness and was reacting to it by keeping away from Thorin, hoping to reduce it that way. The dwarf didn't know, but he allowed himself to think that that was the reason why she acted as she did.

'Good night, Catherine,' he told her, using her full name just in case some elf was listening. He might as well teach himself to use it from now on to avoid slipping up.

The name both did and didn't suit her. It didn't suit the fiery woman with her temper and quick wit. It was not the name of the advisor he had become friends with, who he bantered with at the most inappropriate of times, who he had shouting matches with that would have been audible all over Eriador. Kate was a name that suited that woman. Catherine was another matter entirely. Catherine was the name of the woman who had organised the journey through Mirkwood at Beorn's, who met hostile kings without any visible fear and who demanded answers out of Gandalf. Catherine was the authority figure, a queen in a way.

He dismissed that fanciful thought right away. He had been listening to the chatter of his men far too much if he now started to believe that he was attracted to Kate Andrews. Because he was not, not physically anyway. Her character may be another matter entirely, but it would be best not to dwell on that now either. He still had more important things to concern himself with.

Their current predicament was on the very top of that list. Kate was shivering, he realised, causing the mattress and the blanket to shake as well. Thorin looked at her. She was still trying to keep as much distance from him as she possibly could on the small mattress. The blanket was not very thick at all or very large for that matter and Thorin was sure her back was bared against the cold, because cold it was so far under the ground, cut off from any warmth the sun produced. And Kate must be cold. Her constant shivering was all the proof he needed.

And why was she acting in such a fashion? Was she trying to get ill? 'What are you doing?' he demanded.

He could hardly see her face because it was so dark, but he'd bet all the gold in Erebor that she sent a mocking and irritated glare in his direction. 'Back to the stupid questions again?' she countered. 'I am sleeping of course.'

Maybe she was trying to sleep, but she was not actually doing so. The reason for that was all too obvious. He reached out and found one of her hands. 'You're freezing.' She was; her hands were like ice in his. It was hardly a mystery why she could not sleep.

'Nonsense,' Kate shot back. The statement was somewhat undermined by the violent shiver that made her entire body tremble.

Awkward or not, she would catch her death if she remained where she was. She needed to get warmed up. 'You should move closer,' he told her. Body heat would work. And it was not as if he had not done it before. Thorin remembered the cave in the Misty Mountains very well and that had been before they had even become friends.

'I'm fine,' came the stubborn reply.

Thorin groaned in frustration. Gandalf used to say that he was stubborn, but this woman seemed to have perfected the art. It would be useless to argue with her, he knew from that encounter in the Misty Mountains and so he wasted no more words on the subject. He reached for her and brusquely pulled her into his arms. He ignored her surprised yelp, muffled protests and the feeling of her cold body so close to his, simply wrapping his arms around her in a firm embrace that would surely get her warmed up in no time. He forced himself to ignore the increased awkwardness. This had nothing to do with their assumed relationship. This was about making sure the advisor did not get sick.

'What are you _doing_?' Kate protested, trying to wriggle out of his grasp, which was a doomed attempt anyway. And her words did not sound quite as threatening as they usually did, no doubt caused by the fact that she was now forced to mutter them against his chest. Thorin failed to hide a smirk. It was a good thing she currently was unable to see that.

'If you don't stop shivering, then neither of us will sleep tonight,' he said bluntly. 'Lie still, Catherine. I have no wish to fight you. Sleep. You will need your strength.'

'Hm,' came the muttered reply. Thorin could have sworn it had a bit of sarcasm in it too. 'Now where did I hear that one before?' But her body betrayed her. She was starting to relax and within five minutes Thorin heard her breathing slow. He found it wasn't too difficult to drift off himself then.

**Kate**

When Kate woke she was far more comfortable and warm than her brain knew she should be. Last she checked she had been in a dungeon, feeling like she was freezing to death. But she was no longer freezing. There was a pair of strong arms wrapped around her, keeping her pressed against a warm chest that made sure she was warm and comfortable, or as comfortable as she could be on that thing that was supposed to pass as a mattress here. If anything, Thranduil's hospitality was sorely lacking, not that she was surprised at that.

She wondered about him. It would seem that she had underestimated the hatred between elves and dwarves. She had been as arrogant as to think that reading books and watching movies had been sufficient to prepare her for the reality. After all that had already happened to her, she ought to have known that things simply did not work like that.

There had been hatred in Thranduil's eyes. Only a fool would not see it. But it was mixed with loathing, a rather dangerous combination in Kate's mind. He did not just hate dwarves with every fibre of his being, but he looked down on them as well. He believed he was of a superior race, that the rest of the world population was far beneath him. _Now where have we seen that before_, she wondered sarcastically. Maybe Middle Earth was not as different from her own world after all, and maybe elves did have human characteristics sometimes. In this case it was not a very reassuring thought.

Kate could only hope that Bilbo would find a way to get them out of this blasted cell. He might have read the book by now, if he even had followed them into Thranduil's palace and of that she could not be sure. He had followed them on the march north, that she knew. None of them had seen the hobbit, but the frequent cases of theft had been all the evidence the advisor needed. It had driven Galas up the wall, but not even his most skilled guards could stop the food from disappearing. The company had enjoyed it a lot. Entertainment had been in very short supply, so they took it where they could get it and knowing that their very own burglar outwitted their captors, who were supposed to have the sharpest senses in all of Middle Earth, was a cause for celebration.

In here it was of course difficult to determine whether Bilbo had entered this place as well. He was quick and quiet and as long as he wore that Ring, no one would be able to see him. While that was a good thing, it also caused her to worry. The elves already knew they had missed out on one of their companions. They would be searching for him and if they were in the possession of as much as half a brain, they would have realised this missing person had come north with them.

_Stop it!_ Kate told herself firmly. _Worrying won't change a bloody thing. Get a grip._

That was easier said than done, especially since there was not much else she could do. It wasn't as if she could sit here and read a book. Eating, sleeping and talking would be the only ways to keep the worry and, strangely enough, the boredom at bay. Apparently worrying did not stop her from feeling bored to death as well. There was nothing she could do here and, if his breathing pattern was anything to go by, her cellmate was still sleeping.

She cracked open one eye and was proved right. Thorin was still asleep. Some of his hair was falling over his face, but he was unaware of it. The expression on his face was relaxed in sleep, but still troubled as well. It was a strange contradiction, but it was how he was, Kate supposed. The dwarf was a complicated person with many layers to his personality and she doubted she would ever fully understand him. Maybe she would if they were only locked in this blasted cell for long enough. The prospect was not very tempting.

She untangled herself from his embrace, a feat in and out of itself, since Thorin unconsciously held on tighter to her when she tried to get away from him. It took her five minutes and a lot of skill to do it without waking him up in the process. Even then he still gave a displeased groan when she left. Kate decided to blame his behaviour on his unconscious displeasure with the absence of a source of warmth. It had nothing to do with her as a person leaving.

But maybe it had. Kate could no longer be sure, not of this and not of her own feelings concerning the matter. The act of being a married couple had made a mess of her feelings, leaving her unsure of what it even was that she was feeling. It had been unclear even before that, but now they were walking a tightrope between friendship and something else entirely. It scared her. It didn't exactly help that the act they were performing was so close to how they usually behaved, with just a few subtle differences to make it more believable. Somewhere down that road the lines between reality and act had become blurred and she found that sometimes she was unable to tell one from the other.

_Okay, that's it_, she chastised herself. _This is not a fanfiction, Kate. In real life a human woman does not fall in love with a dwarf and the dwarf doesn't fall in love with the woman. Get a grip. You're reading far too much into this. It's just an act you're playing._

The advisor was not sure she liked the direction her thoughts were taking. It was as if her mind was already admitting that she was falling for her cellmate and that was something she was not going to do, not ever. Friendship was dangerous enough in terms of putting her heart at risk, falling in love was even more so. Nothing could ever come of it, so it was a thing best avoided. Kate had not even realised she was in danger. Her focus had been on getting the quest done and going home after. Forming a romantic attachment had been the farthest thing from her mind and it should remain that way. No, she did not have feelings for this dwarf. If she only told herself this enough, then she could will it to be true. It was the safest thing. What was happening to her now was merely the result of being scared, worried and having listened far too much to her companions' gossip.

_So, stop being such an idiot and do something useful_, she urged herself.

And she did. She had not spent much time inspecting the cell she now found herself in. Yesterday she had been too preoccupied with removing the rope and after that she had been too tired to do anything else. Now it seemed like a stupid thing not to have done. Kate didn't think the cell had a weakness – elves were rather thorough, she had come to learn – but they would never know for certain unless she checked for it. So she wrapped her cloak around herself to hold on to the warmth and keep the chill out and went to investigate.

She might as well saved herself the bother. The bars were strong, the walls were more so and there was not a single weak spot to be found in the entire cell. It made the advisor want to kick something or someone, preferably an elf, in frustration. This cell was rather spacious, that she would not deny, but nevertheless it induced some claustrophobia. It scared her to be trapped like this, down in the dark, with no daylight, only a torch in the corridor to see by. If that went out, they'd be alone in the dark and the thought frightened her.

'What are you doing?' It was Thorin's still sleepy voice that put an end to the impending panic attack.

Kate turned around, forcing herself to conjure up something that might pass for a sarcastic smile with some imagination. 'You seem to insist on asking the stupid questions,' she shot back. 'What does it look like I'm doing?'

Thorin worked himself into a sitting position, studying what she was doing. Kate almost started feeling uncomfortable. 'I would not have asked had I known,' the dwarf king shot back. Judging by the look in his eyes he truly had no idea what she was up to. And maybe that was not so strange as she had first thought it to be. After all, she was on her knees, feeling for any holes in the wall that could be of service to them. And he had just woken up. Maybe his brain was not fully back online again.

She got up and walked back to the mattress, seating herself on the edge of it in order not to sit on his legs or seat herself on the far too cold ground. 'I was looking for weak spots,' she admitted.

'Did you find any?' Thorin asked.

Kate shook her head. 'There's one little opening, the size of a mouse hole, I'd say. It leads into the cell next to ours, but it's empty. We passed it when they brought us here and there was no one in there.' The others had all been taken elsewhere and Kate could not for the life of her figure out where they had been taken. 'It's not much of a weak spot anyway,' she admitted. 'And that's all there is. Bloody elves. Why do they have to be so ridiculously thorough about everything?'

'To keep dangerous people like our company from breaking out,' Thorin replied wryly.

'Sadly they seem to be succeeding,' Kate muttered. This whole situation was doing strange things to her moods. She felt frustrated beyond measure, up to a point where she wanted to hit the wall to get some of her anger off her chest. There was fear as well, mixed up with panic, because she was afraid she would be stuck here forever, never to see daylight again. _Then that is what you might do before you will be let out of the cells, even if it takes a hundred years_. That was what Thranduil had said. And hundred years probably meant nothing to an elf, but it meant the rest of her life to her. If Bilbo did not come, she might die in here. The prospect was scaring.

So of course the book stated that they would leave this place in barrels within the next two weeks. Not the most comfortable way of travelling, but preferable over staying in this dark place for the rest of her days. But there was no telling if that even was what would happen in real life, since there was such a gap between book and reality. She could simply not fully rely on her knowledge. Maybe this was what was meant to be, but Kate knew better than to think that was what would come to pass in real life as well. As she had just established, this was no fanfiction after all. In real life, things didn't always work out and if they did, not always for the better.

'Mr Baggins will come,' Thorin said. It was almost as if he was trying to reassure her, something he wasn't known to do very often. It was not in his nature. He was more the bossing people about type and if he tried to reassure people at all, he often failed at it because he sounded so brusque and blunt.

But she appreciated the effort he made. 'I thought it was my job to reassure you,' she joked feebly. 'Not the other way around.'

'It was necessary,' Thorin told her. The tone of voice was still brusque, but Kate had grown used to that by now. There was no doubt about whether he really meant what he said. In his own way he was even being kind to her and Thorin Oakenshield wasn't generally known for his kindness.

'Thanks,' she said, meaning it. It did mean a lot that he tried. 'It's just that I am not very sure if Bilbo will come at all. He hasn't read the book.' He could have, but there was just no way of knowing and to be honest, Kate thought that he would have other and better things to concern himself with than the contents of her rucksack. 'I don't know if he will come up with the barrel plan all on his own, if I'm really honest.'

Thorin sent her a quizzical look. 'You always were the one with the most faith in our burglar,' he observed.

Kate snorted. 'Was I?' she wondered. 'I think that perhaps you're getting me mixed up with Gandalf now.'

This time it was Thorin's turn to snort. 'I do not think I could ever mistake you for the wizard, Catherine,' he remarked. 'The hair colour would be a good thing to tell you apart, as would the fact that he is male and you are not.'

'As you never ever failed to remind me from the moment I joined your company,' Kate shot back. She had no idea how they had come from the depressing subjects to the playful banter, but she liked it. Heaven knew that she needed to distract herself, escapism though it may be, and the way things were now they would be stuck in this cell for a while. Bantering was a good way to keep both their spirits up. With the dark all around them the dark thoughts were all too near for Kate's liking. She wondered how the rest of the company fared. Had they been kept more or less together or were they all on their own? She hoped and prayed for the first option.

Thorin chuckled that low chuckle of his. 'I never thought you'd stay this long, Kate.'

'Neither did I,' Kate countered. And she had not thought she would remain this long. But now that she was here, there was no real regret about it either. In fact, she had come to enjoy the company more than she probably should. It was still a major concern of hers, although less pressing now that they were trapped in this cursed dungeon of Thranduil's. 'It's not a regret of mine, though,' she told him. They were friends now. She might as well tell him the truth. And it was not as if she was confessing a crime. 'I just would have liked it better if we could have skipped this visit.' She sighed. 'Next time I think I have a brilliant idea, stop me.'

Thorin only frowned at her. 'Why?'

'You're not stupid, are you?' Kate inquired. 'The fire? That was a mistake.' And it had been. Apart from the danger she had put everyone in, it also had alerted every sentient being in Mirkwood to their presence. They might have survived the fight and passed through the forest unnoticed had she not made Bilbo light that fire. The inferno must have been visible from miles away. It was hardly a mystery why the elves had come to take a look. Had she been in their place she would have done the same.

Thorin positively glared at her, so Kate averted her eyes in order not to see it. 'Look at me.' This was a command, one that was almost impossible to ignore. But Kate had trained herself to ignore Thorin's moods and commands quite well, so she kept her eyes firmly on her boots. 'Catherine, look at me.'

'Want to tell me how this was not my fault?' she inquired sarcastically. 'Save your breath, Thorin.' She wasn't exactly eager to take the blame for their current predicament, but it would be fair, she supposed. She was a member of the company and she had led them into danger. First she had been as stupid as to advise Thorin to take the Men-i-Naugrim – and only see where that had gotten them – and then she had made the fire that had not only endangered all of them, but had also drawn a lot of unwanted attention. Their only luck was perhaps that it had been the elves who had found them and not the servants of the current resident of Dol Guldur.

'You blame yourself for the fact that the elves found us?' Thorin sounded almost incredulous.

'From your tone of voice I'd say that you don't,' Kate remarked sourly. 'You know, what does it even matter? We're here now anyway. Sometimes I even wonder if we can avoid the book from going exactly as it is written for an extended period of time.' She got to her feet, too restless to sit down. The cell was not exactly the right place to pace, but she found she didn't have too much trouble with it. 'Just look at the bloody mess we're in. I don't know what Gandalf was even thinking!'

She only realised that this was hardly the right thing to say to someone whose very survival depended on her being able to change the story as it was written down in the book. If they could not change that ending, then he would die, as would Fíli and Kíli and that was something that was just too horrible to imagine.

'Good grief,' she whispered. 'Thorin, I am sorry. That was tactless, it really was.' She sat down again, so that they were at eyelevel, folding her legs under her. What on earth was wrong with her that she kept making these stupid remarks without even thinking? She might have thought that she had spent too much time in Dwalin's company, so that now she had adopted his brutal honesty without even noticing that she had done it. 'I mean, we can obviously change something. We already did so by taking the Men-i-Naugrim instead of the elven path and really all we need is to cheat the book long enough to reclaim the Mountain and sent any unwanted visitors packing.'

It had to be the understatement of the century, but right now she may want to belittle the trials that may not even come to pass. It was hardly news that Thorin felt strongly about this and he had good reasons to do so. His life depended on it. Kate well recalled how he had looked when he had first read the book. This expression was not quite like it, but it was close enough. _Congratulations, Andrews, you did it again._

'I mean it,' she went on. If only he'd say something, but that did not seem to be his way. Thorin reacted with dignified but freezing silence to things he did not like. 'I don't think we're really doomed to live the book no matter what we ourselves want. If that was the case, then why would Gandalf have dragged me here in the first place? It would…'

She was stopped from finishing that sentence. By Thorin's lips on hers. And the world stopped turning.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _What the hell is happening?_

* * *

**Yes, I'm back again. Berlin was amazing, but it's also good to be home again. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will be up Thursday instead of Wednesday, because I'll be out of town then the entire day.**

**In the meantime, reviews would be lovely. Anyone dare venture a guess as to what is going on?**


	48. Chapter 48 Consequences

**Chapter 48**

**Consequences**

_The king and queen of romance we were. Or rather, we were not. In fact, we were anything but. I don't think we have ever been. What your father and I had and, thank Mahal, still have is something that is not easily described or defined. I'm actually convinced that many people would not even call it a proper romance and I wonder if I could truly fault them for that. I don't think I would call it a "proper" romance either, whatever it is that is meant by that anyway._

_No, we were not the kind of people to show a lot of affection in public. I don't think royalty is even allowed that privilege, but fortunately for us neither of us really wanted that. The only time we were so obvious about it was when we were in Mirkwood and I hardly think that counts, since both of us were still more or less convinced it was only an act! Unbelievable how blind we have both been._

_Thorin and I are mostly just a good team. We work well together and I like to think that's at least part of the reason why things work so well in Erebor. It's something that goes without saying, sometimes even without thinking. It just works. Signs of affection are mostly for behind closed doors and away from the eyes of our lovely kids, who seem to think that their father kissing their mother is a reason to break into a run, right, Duria? _

_We are a strange couple, come to think of it. We say 'You're an idiot' when we mean 'I love you,' we argue until we're both out of breath and kiss the next second and we insult one another at the most inappropriate of times, yet there is never any malice behind it. I just do not think that we are the kind of people to be all lovey-dovey around one another. It is not in our nature. Neither of us are comfortable with it._

_I know other people sometimes think us strange and I know you must have heard these talks as well. But those people would have talked anyway. Like Thranduil told us on the day I first met that arrogant excuse for a king, a human woman marrying a dwarf king was unheard of, so our marriage was going to make people talk anyway. Our strange way of behaving around one another was hardly going to add to it, although it is annoying from time to time. _

_So, maybe you should not be too surprised that our first kiss was not romantic in any way…_

**Thorin**

Thorin found himself almost frozen into place the moment Kate confessed that she had no idea if she would be capable to change anything that was written in the book they had both read from beginning to end. He knew she had entertained doubts like that before, but he thought they had been laid to rest when they had decided to break away from the book by taking the Men-i-Naugrim instead of the elven path Gandalf would have them take.

And it had seemed to be working. There had been wargs and orcs, yes. Even Azog had shown up. Thorin would be the last to say that their plans had been good, but it was different than the book had claimed events would go. He was well aware that Bifur had not died in the book, but it was a loss he could accept, if not lightly. But Bifur had died in battle, fighting. It was the kind of death he would have wanted for himself and the risk was one he had well known. No one went on a quest such as his without being fully aware of what the cost for such a decision might be. They had all known and they had all come nonetheless.

And they _had_ defeated the orcs. By all accounts it was a massive victory. There was only one death on their side and the enemy had been wiped off the face of the earth. It was more than anyone could have asked for.

And Thorin knew better than to ask for more. But he did it anyway, because he needed to get his company out of Mirkwood. Instead he got them captured by elves, just like the book claimed would happen. And now he was in this cell, the quest was at risk and where his companions were Mahal only knew. Well, the elves probably knew as well, but they were hardly going to give him the information he needed.

Kate seemed to realise she had said something that had unsettled him. Lately she seemed to be able to read him better than he was comfortable with. That privilege had been Dís's before now and hers alone. And he had been known as one of the most unreadable persons alive, but where the advisor was concerned he appeared to be an open book.

'Good grief,' she whispered, probably realising the implications of what she had said. 'Thorin, I am sorry. That was tactless, it really was.' She seemed distressed, but it was difficult to make out. She had already been restless before. It was a feeling Thorin himself understood all too well. Being locked up with no access to any information made him edgy too. Who knew if Mr Baggins even could break them out of this place? There was no way of telling it for sure. There was only what should be, but no guarantee that this _should be_ was what would happen. And it was frustrating.

Kate sat down opposite him. Thorin knew where this was going. She was in full apology flow. She had done the same thing after her rather tactless joke about Smaug doing the cooking in Erebor. These moods were few and far in between and she usually only had them when she was already exhausted or otherwise thrown off balance. And Thorin understood her need to apologise for her rather tactless remarks, but the words came out of her mouth almost too fast to make heads or tails of it.

Kate was still in the middle of her apologetic speech, but Thorin found he was not really listening. He knew the gist of what she was saying, which was enough. And there was something else that got his attention. Sound carried far in these underground caves – which was what they were in essence, just with the additional bars – and the dwarf king could have sworn he heard something. The something, however, was undefined.

And undefined was not something Thorin liked, so he strained his ears and listened harder. There was definitely sound now. Footsteps it were, he decided, and an elf's at that. No dwarf or man could walk that gracefully or that quietly. Thorin ruled out the burglar as well. If Bilbo had been approaching, he would have never even hear him coming before he was in front of the cell. The hobbit was an expert at sneaking around and besides, hobbits didn't wear shoes. It had to be an elf.

And Kate was still in full flow, blabbing all kinds of information that the elves should never hear. Because if they did hear, it would be obvious that the story they had been telling their captors was nothing more than that: a story. And Thorin knew he could not be exposed as a liar in the given circumstances. But not only would they be exposed as liars, the elves would also learn many other things about them and the quest. The dwarf was sure that he did not want Thranduil to know that Kate hailed from another world and that she had knowledge of events that were yet to come, including their escape from his dungeons. The elf could never find that out.

'Catherine!' he hissed at her, hoping to get her attention by using her full name, the one he knew she did not particularly like.

Kate did not hear him. She was rambling now and Thorin thought it a fair guess that she had not heard him talking to her at all. And the footsteps of the elf – he believed that there was only one, but he was not entirely certain – were closer now than he was comfortable with. Who knows what that pointy-eared being had already heard? Elves did have stronger senses after all.

'_Catherine_!' he tried again, again to absolutely no avail.

He needed to keep her quiet, plain and simple. The elves could not hear her, so maybe he could do what he had done before, when the orcs had been approaching at night, and clasp a hand over her mouth. But he also remembered that Kate had bitten him when he had done that the first time and that shutting up had not been very high on her list of priorities after that. Besides, he did not think that it was something a husband did to his wife. They had to pretend to be married while they were in here and for some reason he did not believe that it was done to keep her from blabbing things out like that. The elves looking in would know that something was amiss. They would know that the woman had been saying things that were not meant for their ears. They might keep a closer eye on them then and that was something they could do without.

But what other way was there? What did not look suspicious and what would silence Kate at the same time? And then it hit him. Of course.

Thorin did not allow himself to think it over. There was no time for thinking about it and if he did, he might change his mind instantly. He knew he would. So he did not think, leaned in and pressed his lips against Kate's while she was still in the middle of a sentence.

The chattering stopped instantly. Kate froze into place, shocked and startled by this course of action. But Thorin knew her well. Shock never lasted long with the advisor and he half feared that when it inevitably would wear off, he would either get slapped across the face or bitten again. He could not yet decide which of the two it would be. What he was certain of was that he would find himself on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing later, but that was something he could deal with as long as long as she waited with it until the elf was gone.

What he had not expected from her was to relax. He had one hand on her shoulder and he could almost feel the tension leave her body. And this confused him. Why would she do that? It was almost as if she enjoyed it, but that could not be true, could it? She had never liked him, not like that. They were friends, nothing more.

But Thorin already knew that was not entirely true. He had done a lot of thinking after the inferno, had kept wondering why people reached the wrong conclusion about the two of them time and again. He had come to realise that they had been giving off the wrong signs to just about everyone they had met. It made him wonder why he did that and that had led to the conclusion that he _did_ care about the advisor, and more than just as a friend. He didn't allow normal friends to sleep with their heads in his lap, he didn't look out for normal friends the way he did for Kate. Sometime during this journey something had changed between them and he could not for the life of him pinpoint when or how it had happened.

There was no physical attraction. He still thought Kate as skinny and hairless as she had ever been and had he not known her as he did and he would have passed her in the street, he would not have spared her a second glance. He might not have spared her a first to begin with. But he had come to know her, her fiery temper, dry sense of humour, her newfound loyalty to her friends and family in this world. He had grown to like her, more than he should. Because such a thing did not happen, not between two individuals of a different race. And it could never last. Kate's home was not in this world, but now it would help him in pulling this off. After Mirkwood all those undefined feelings would need to be shut away. He could simply not afford it. The quest was more important, _had_ to be more important.

In the meantime he would be lying to himself shamelessly if he claimed that this did not feel good. It felt better than anything he had experienced in years. It felt like being complete in a strange and also very alarming way. Kate hesitantly laid a hand against his cheek, a caress. Her hands were still soft, but he could feel the results of travelling in the wild for months on her palms. They were rougher than they had been.

And she was responding. Maybe she had heard the elf approaching as well now that she had finally stopped talking, had understood the need for acting. He could not think of another reason why she would suddenly kiss him, even if he had been the one to start it. Kate had never wasted an opportunity to point out that the thought of the two of them together was beyond ridiculous. She was not interested in him the way he had become interested in her, Mahal help him. How had this even happened?

This would not happen again. Even as their lips were still practically glued together, he knew that this would be just this once, to fool the elves into thinking something that was, at least for him, awfully close to the truth. So he committed it to memory, every movement, the feeling of a stray lock of red curly hair tickling the back of his hand, the feeling of the advisor's mouth against his.

He was dragged back to the real world by the amused chuckle of what could only be an elf. No other being could make laughing sound like a song. 'So, it is true.'

The dwarf let go of Kate, turning to the door. He inwardly moaned when he recognised Elvaethor's face. Thranduil may be his sworn enemy and Galas his own pain in the behind, but Elvaethor was like a stinging insect you never could get killed: buzzing around your head, driving you crazy, inducing the urgent need to squash it and always just out of reach. He had been studying the supposed relationship while they were marching north and had always seemed to find it very interesting. But the elf's very presence made Thorin's skin crawl.

Apparently Kate was of the same opinion. 'You again.' She managed to convey all the annoyance and contempt that she felt with just those two words. 'Nice to have seen you again. Can you just bugger off now?'

But neither Thorin nor Kate could make him "bugger off," no matter how much they wanted it. And Thorin wanted this elf to go away, sooner rather than later. But they were in a cell and Elvaethor was free to go where he wished.

'I came to see to your wound, my lady,' the redheaded elf informed her.

'It's as good as healed,' Kate countered. 'There is nothing for you to look at.' Thorin knew it was the truth. Her arm functioned almost just as well as it had before she had been injured. Kate was fine, if a bit flustered now. Her cheeks were a bright crimson and Thorin suspected it was because she was embarrassed. He himself did not feel quite at ease with an elf witnessing that kiss, but he knew better than to show it. Anger was a much safer way to deal with these matters anyway. Embarrassment was a weakness and he could not afford to be weak in this place. He needed to be strong here, especially when he was facing his captors.

'Why are you here?' he demanded. The wound was just the excuse to come down here. It was not the reason. Thorin prided himself in knowing when he was being lied to. He had been fooled by Azog – and he was none too proud of that – but he knew Elvaethor was not telling the truth. He had come down here for another reason and Thorin passionately hoped it was not to continue his study of his relationship with Kate. He was not sure if he could handle that so shortly after the kiss.

Because his feelings were confused, unclear. Kate would call it a mess. That kiss meant something, had marked the change of something. Maybe it had only served to point out to him just how much the woman had come to mean to him. It sealed what he felt, what he had suspected he felt for a little over a week now. It felt as if he had crossed the point of no return and it frightened him.

'I said I came to see to your lady's injury,' the elf said pleasantly.

'Part of the reason,' Kate shot back, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. 'Not all of it. What. Are. You. Doing. Here?' It would seem that their personal insect's presence unnerved her just as much as Thorin, although for slightly different reasons perhaps. She seemed more or less ashamed that Elvaethor had seen what he had seen. While Thorin could understand that she did not want witnesses to something that for some reason had turned out to be so intimate, it also annoyed him that she was apparently ashamed of what had happened between them just now.

'Well, I cannot deny that yours is an interesting story,' Elvaethor said. 'A dwarf who married a human woman is rare enough, but you are not just any dwarf, are you, Thorin, son of Thráin, son of Thrór?'

Thorin was suddenly grateful that there were bars between them and the elf. Kate was looking at their pain in the behind as if she was dying to strangle him and Thorin could not find it in himself to fault her for that. The elf's gloating was getting at his nerves, badly.

'If you want a nice romantic story, just ask your minstrel to sing some bloody ballad,' Kate grumbled. Her fists were clenching and unclenching, a clear sign that she was trying not to lose her patience with this annoying elf, a fight, Thorin suspected, she was doomed to lose. For that too he could not blame her. Mahal knew elves were an infuriating race. They may be Ilúvatar's firstborn children, but could he not have made them a little less annoying? 'Our story is our own. It is none of your concern.'

Elvaethor seated himself on the cold stone floor outside the cell. 'But it is a very interesting story surely,' he argued. 'No offence, my lady, but you are not of noble birth, yet you attracted the attention of dwarven royalty. This has not been known to happen in the history of this world.'

'Obviously there's a first for everything,' Kate countered.

Apparently. Kate was right, as was Elvaethor. Never before had one of Thorin's kind fallen in love with one of another race. It was not done. It did not happen. And now Thorin found himself in danger of being the first to fall for an ordinary human woman with no beard and a lot of mouth. And she did not even hail from this world. It was insane. That was perhaps the best thing that could be said of it.

But this would never even have happened had Gandalf not been his meddling annoying self. It was the wizard who had brought Kate to this world against her wishes and, as it had turned out, against Thorin's wishes as well. None of them had wanted her in the company, least of all in an advising role. Yet that was what had forced them to work together. Had they not been forced to do that, they would never have become as close as they had.

For a moment the dwarf king wondered if that had been Gandalf's intention all along, to get the two of them together, but he dismissed that fanciful thought right away. No, Gandalf was no matchmaker. Kingmaker, yes, meddler extraordinaire, yes, and expert manipulator, yes. But he was no matchmaker. Thorin simply refused to believe that. He had just chosen Kate because he believed she was the right person to make Thorin listen and maybe he had intended for them to become friends, but that was it.

'So it would seem,' Elvaethor agreed. 'And I feel I must apologise for doubting your words.'

Kate's eyes narrowed a little further. 'You doubted our word?'

'An understandable mistake, I'm sure you'll agree.' The elf still smiled serenely. It was, as Kate used to say, one of their default settings and one of the most infuriating as well. 'I simply suspected that there was another reason why you told us you had been married. For your protection, I assumed. I must now correct these assumptions.'

'Yes, thank you for that,' Kate said sarcastically. 'Did your mother never tell you it is rude to spy on people, especially in these situations? You may have missed it, but it is a tiny bit humiliating. We're not here for your personal entertainment.'

Was that why she was so angry, because she felt that token of affection had been put on show for all to see? That was something Thorin could understand, something he could relate to. He did not feel at ease with that himself. But it had to be done and he did not regret it, not even when it had made such a mess of his own feelings.

'No, you are not,' the elf said. 'And I apologise for imposing on you in such a way.' He smiled at them. 'It would be a shame if no songs would be written about such a remarkable couple.'

Kate's eyes flashed. 'Don't you dare.' Thorin found he shared that particular sentiment. He had been praised in more than enough songs after Azanulbizar. He did not want to be praised in some stupid elven ballad based on a lie.

Elvaethor slowly got to his feet and Thorin and Kate followed suit. They could not go anywhere, but this elf looked down on them more than enough already and Thorin would not make it any worse than it was by remaining seated while the elf towered over him. He did have some pride, even though he had been locked up.

'I would not write a song with such a disappointing ending,' he informed the two of them. 'It would not be fitting. A love such as yours is worthy of a better end.' He smiled at them. 'It should not end in a dungeon.' He sounded almost sad, disappointed even maybe, almost as if he had lost the chance to write a wonderful ballad.

What was he saying here? Once again Thorin cursed his inability to read between lines. Normally he was good at that, but elves were very difficult to read, if they could be read at all. Elvaethor gave the vague impression of being on their side, but he dismissed that notion in the same thought. He could not understand the elves and their strange schemes and he should not wish for it either. Nothing they said could be taken at face value.

'What do you mean?' Kate questioned. She too must have sensed there was more to his words.

Elvaethor made a slight bow in her direction. 'Nothing more than what I said, my lady.' That was as evasive an answer as Thorin had ever heard. It was infuriating too. 'I shall take my leave of you. I know when I am unwelcome.'

He turned on his heels and left. Well, at least he knew when he was not welcome indeed. Thorin was glad to see the back of him and it was with some satisfaction that he heard the footsteps fade into the distance. But this did mean that they were alone again and after what had happened between them, Thorin had no doubt they had an urgent need to discuss a few things. And the dwarf king may be courageous, bordering on reckless, on the battlefield, but this was something he inwardly cowered away from. Of course he would never tell that to anyone, not even to Kate. Especially not to Kate, he corrected himself.

But he was saved from having such a conversation by the most unexpected of visitors. He had already opened his mouth when someone on the other side of the bars spoke. 'Thank goodness, I thought he'd never leave.'

**Kate**

Kate had turned away from the door, so when a very familiar voice spoke, she swivelled around to look at… nothing. The space in front of the door was empty. But that was not too much of a surprise, because she recognised the voice that had spoken instantly.

'Bilbo!' She had to lower her voice in order not to alarm Elvaethor in case he was still close, but she found it almost impossible to hide her relief now. True, she had hoped that Bilbo would come to find them, because that was what happened in the book, but she also knew better than to hope for it, in case it didn't turn out the way it was supposed to. That was what the kind-of-argument with Thorin had been about in the first place. Now she allowed the relief to wash over her. The book would turn out to be right. Sometimes that frightened her more than she was ready to admit, but now she felt like doing a happy dance around this cell because of it.

The hobbit slipped the Ring off his finger, tucking it away in the pocket of his jacket. He looked dishevelled, tired and distinctly ruffled, but only a fool would miss out on the smug expression on his face. And he had probably every right to look like that, because he had gone more or less undetected so far – to the extent that the elves knew that someone had to be there, but they could not track him down and arrest him, which had infuriated Galas to absolutely no end – he had remained free and now he had sneaked into the dungeons to find them.

'You have no idea how happy I am to see you,' Kate told him. And it was the truth.

The smug expression intensified in tenfold. 'Well, you always did say I would make for a good burglar.' Kate needed to think a moment about when she had said such a thing. 'In the Misty Mountains?' Bilbo reminded her.

It came back to her then. In the Misty Mountains, when they had been on the run from the goblins, they had had a small break in one cave or the other. They had needed to catch their breaths and get some rest, but Kate had found that sleep eluded her and the same had been true for Bilbo. Instead they had ended up talking about how he had outwitted the goblins and had managed to find Gandalf. Somewhere during that conversation Kate had remarked that he actually was well on his way to become a good burglar.

Unfortunately that was also the conversation when Bilbo had asked her if the Great Goblin's assumption about Thorin and her being together had been true. Kate had denied it of course. No, they were not a couple and at the time she had never believed in the possibility of them ever becoming one.

At the time. That was precisely the point where everything had gone wrong. Because now, right now, Kate didn't even think that the possibility was that impossible anymore, not after that blasted kiss. Ugh, she could still vividly recall the feeling of those lips on hers and it had successfully managed to break down every single wall she had built.

Because if anything, saying that she did not have feelings for this dwarf would be a lie. She did. She'd had them for quite a while too, she reckoned, even if she had been so forcefully denying them that she had not even recognised them for what they were anymore. But of course Thorin, blasted dwarf, had to put an end to that by silencing her in the most inappropriate way imaginable. What on earth had he been thinking?

Because that was what it was. The kiss had just been a way to shut her up, nothing more. While she had been prattling on, Thorin must have heard Elvaethor's approach and it was logical that he did not want her to blab every last bit of information she had to the enemy. She had to be silenced. Up to that point Kate could understand his reasoning. But when she came to his methods, she was completely lost.

And it would seem that the same could be said about her heart. No matter how much she told herself that this was not a fanfiction and that this did just not happen in real life – _so get a sodding grip on yourself, Andrews_ – that to Thorin this had only been an act – _so stop behaving like a drooling teenager, girl_ – and that she had more or less promised herself not to form any permanent attachment in this world – _because that can only end in heartbreak and tears_ – the fact remained that something had changed with that sodding kiss and Kate was not entirely sure she was in the mood to consider that already.

Fortunately she had distraction near at hand, because the burglar was still standing in front of the cell. 'How did you get here?' she wondered. 'We must be very deep down, right?'

Bilbo did not disappoint. 'I'll have you know that it wasn't easy.' The tone strangely reminded Kate of the tone he had used when he was about to relate to her how he had sneaked past the goblins; a mixture of smugness and pride, which he, she had to admit, was entitled to. It could not have been easy at all to sneak past elves, who were by all rights far more observant than the goblins. 'It's a maze down here and the elves have done a lot to keep you all separated.'

'So we noticed,' Thorin remarked gruffly.

'I think I know where everyone is,' the hobbit reported. 'All I had to do was to follow the guards when they went to bring food. You two were distinctly harder to locate, but then I saw that…' He was clearly looking for the right words to describe Kate's own personal pain in the behind.

'Annoying, pointy-eared tree-lover,' she provided. 'His name's Elvaethor.' And it annoyed her to no end that Tolkien never made any mention of him, or Galas, come to think of it. She had absolutely nothing to go on when it came to them and that was unnerving. And that was leaving that elf's mysterious behaviour out of her consideration.

'Him, yes,' Bilbo said. 'He's the captain of the guard, apparently.'

Kate tried and failed not to snort. Just her luck of course. She knew the book had never named this captain, or described him. All the reader knew about him was that he was male – because he was referred to as a _he_ – and that he got drunk on the eve of the dwarves' escape. Apparently Elvaethor was the one who, if everything went well, would get himself drunk sooner or later, although Kate obviously preferred the sooner over the later.

'Charming,' she commented sarcastically. 'So, you followed him down here?' At Bilbo's nod, she frowned. 'I did not see him leaving any food.'

At this Bilbo's face took on the colour of an overripe tomato. 'You were… ehm… otherwise occupied,' he managed to say. 'He left it next to the door.'

At this Kate had to work hard to not follow the hobbit's example and blush like an idiot. She definitely did not want to be reminded of what had happened between Thorin and her. That had to be saved for later, when they were out of this damp cell. Or, better still, she ought to delete it in its entirety, because she was not sure she could handle the consequences of what had occurred here.

'Good, I'm starving.' She wasn't, but that was something Bilbo did not need to know. For now she was just desperate for another topic of conversation, something Thorin and Bilbo both at least suspected, she thought.

The dwarf was as ill at ease as Kate herself was. The signs were subtle, but she had come to know him well. His posture was rigid, his words more formal and the look in his eyes alert. He treated this like he would any crisis situation and, come to think of it, that was exactly what this was. This was a crisis and a huge one at that. At least Thorin had his priorities sorted.

_So, take that as an example and stop being so ridiculously sentimental, Catherine Andrews_, she told herself. That kiss was over and done with. She was no squealing fangirl and this was no fanfiction. This was reality and in reality people sometimes had to do compromising things to save their skins. There needn't necessarily be a happily ever after either. _Get your head out of your stories and back to the here and now, girl. There's work to do. Floating on a cloud will not get you out of this dreadful place._ Her mental reprimand helped some.

Bilbo handed them the plate. Say of the elves what you like, but they didn't let their prisoners starve. The meal was fit for a king. Kate had not been really hungry before then, but the sight of food reminded her that she had not eaten for quite some time.

'Eat,' Thorin commanded the hobbit brusquely.

'I can steal some later,' Bilbo said.

'Eat,' Thorin repeated. It was his own unique brand of caring, one Bilbo had not quite worked out yet, but Kate knew what this was. She had seen it before, another sign that she had spent far too much time in the dwarf's company. If, no _when_, they got out of this prison, she would need to keep her distance from him, if only to protect her own heart.

How had this even happened? She had sworn that she would not make any permanent attachments and up to the Misty Mountains she had done well. Of course that was when the Ri brothers cheerfully ignored that vow and dragged her into their family, regardless of her own wishes on the matter. Next she had allowed herself to befriend Thorin, because it would make cooperating so much easier. But now it would seem she got quite a lot more than she had bargained for. Somewhere down that road Thorin had become more to her than she was even comfortable with.

And Thorin himself was of course completely unmoved. He had not even blinked. He had just kissed her, made her heart a mess and then drawn away as if it meant nothing at all. To him it probably did not mean a single thing. It was just the best way to stop her from telling the elves all the information they could not have. For some stupid reason she felt as if he'd rejected her, used her and then cast her away without a second thought.

_Get. A. Grip_. 'Please eat,' she told the hobbit. 'He won't shut up otherwise.'

Bilbo looked at both of them and then nodded, handing the plate to Kate afterwards. She took some and then passed it on to Thorin. It was the strangest meal she'd had in a long while. All of them were quiet and a little uncomfortable as well. Bilbo was on one side of the door and Thorin and Kate on the other and yet they had to eat from one single plate. Fortunately the bars were rather far apart. They could see and hear each other perfectly. The blasted things only prevented them from getting out, which was no doubt exactly what those things had been meant for. Not even Kate, who had heard on various occasions that she could be blown away in the gentlest breeze, would be able to squeeze through. And even if she could, it wouldn't do her any good as long as she didn't have a way out.

'So, you know where everyone is?' Kate asked when the last crumb had been cleared from the plate. Now that her stomach was filled and she forced her mind to think about the more serious matters, she did feel better. And the awkward situation with Thorin was a whole lot easier to ignore than it had been before. Bilbo's arrival had come just in time.

Bilbo nodded. 'It wasn't really difficult to work it out. You're all on different levels, but they kept you relatively near the main corridor and staircase. I think they just don't want to have too much trouble remembering where they put everyone. The two of you are the deepest down. That elf, Galas, he said you were the most dangerous prisoners, so you had to be kept as far down as possible.'

This was hardly the time to make fun of the situation, but Kate could not help herself. She sniggered. 'What, he actually called _me_ dangerous? Good grief, he's even more delusional than I already thought he was. What an idiot.'

'Do not underestimate him.' Thorin ignored her and addressed Bilbo. 'He has a temper and no love of dwarves. He will take great care to ensure our continued captivity.'

Kate found that she was not too surprised at that. During the journey here Thranduil's arrogant nephew had never wasted an opportunity to humiliate them. Kate had seen it and had she not had her arm in that sling and had she not been tied to Thorin, she might have lost her temper before the first day was out, acquainting her fist with that too perfect nose of the elf's. It was true that she had wondered how Galas would look with a broken nose and she had fantasised more than once about being the reason for said broken nose herself. She soon found that these little fantasies helped her cope with the reality of not being able to act on those impulses.

For Thorin it had been even worse. It had not taken the elves long to establish that he was the leader of the company. They, Galas most of all, had taunted him mercilessly about his inability to look after his company and hey had made scathing and humiliating references to quarrels and feuds that were probably older than the Roman empire. She had not understood all of it, despite her relatively good knowledge of Tolkien's works, and most of it had been very subtle, but she had not been unaware of Thorin's reactions to such jests. It had been very real and very painful for him. Kate had seen the fury burning in his eyes as he fought to keep his mouth shut. It had been humiliating for someone with such pride as Thorin had. Had his hands not been bound, Galas's head might have been removed from his shoulders before he could utter another insult. Kate doubted Thorin would have even felt the arrows the other elves would have fired at him in case of such an event before the deed had been done.

Bilbo frowned. 'There's a feast tomorrow evening,' he reported. 'He complained about having to attend to Elvaethor this morning.'

Now it was Kate's turn to frown. 'That can't be right.' The words had escaped her mouth before she could even begin to check them. 'The book says there's a feast only two weeks after the company has been imprisoned. We've only been here for about a day.' Her mind was working overtime. If she remembered correctly, then the company would escape from Thranduil's dungeons at the night of the feast, because that was when the butler and the captain of the guards got themselves drunk and that was also the night that the empty barrels were pushed into the river. It was the night of the company's escape.

But the timing was all wrong. It should not be so soon. True, Bilbo had found out where every dwarf was kept a lot sooner than the book said he would need and that was a pleasant surprise, but surely they needed more time to get ready, more time to prepare? Bilbo was truly a remarkable hobbit – doubtlessly the reason why he had been chosen as a burglar by the ever mysterious wizard – but even he could not work miracles.

She turned around to face Thorin, awkwardness at least for the moment forgotten. They had more important things to concern themselves with. He too had a frown in his forehead as he processed that information. 'There's a time difference,' he said eventually. 'We came here later than we should have in the book, because we took the Men-i-Naugrim.'

Kate nodded, feeling rather stupid for not coming up with that herself. He was right of course. They had taken the southern route instead of the northern one, which meant that they had a good way still to go after they had been captured. The date of Thranduil's feast however had not been changed, which was why they had far less time to prepare their escape than they should have had otherwise. _Why had it seemed like a good idea to take the southern route again?_

But if she had to make that decision again today, even knowing what she knew now, she knew she would make the same choice. Because now Azog was dead and they had not encountered spiders, nor had anyone lost their memory. That had to be worth something. But Bifur would be alive had they taken the elven path.

_And how would you know?_ common sense demanded. _It's not as if that book is so very reliable._

But in this particular case it was. But the past was done and they could not change it now. All they could reasonably change was the future and if they did not want to spend a large part of said future in this cursed prison, they had to go and do something. Kate gave herself a quick mental kick in the behind.

'We should risk it, don't you think?' she asked. Common sense was very much opposed to taking risks, but Kate told it to shut up. If she wanted risk-free, she would remain in this cell to the end of her days and that was not going to happen. She wanted to see the sunlight again. And one thing was for sure: she would not see the sun ever again if she chickened out now.

Thorin gave her a curt nod. 'We should.'

'Okay.' She turned to Bilbo. 'You still have my bag.' It was more of a conclusion than a question, because she could see it sitting next to the halfling. 'There's a book in it, called _The Hobbit_.'

Said hobbit's eyes widened in alarm. He knew what she was talking about. He couldn't not know it after she had revealed the existence of that book at the top of her lungs just a little distance away from the goblins' back door. He knew what she was talking about and, if his facial expression was anything to go by, he anticipated her next request already. 'Yes?'

'Get it out, will you?' she asked, a bit wearily. What was it with the people of this world that they were treating that book as if it contained some kind of contagious disease, something they might catch if they even heard it mentioned?

Bilbo looked to Thorin for help – that had to be a first, because as far as Kate was aware the hobbit rather kept his distance after the unfortunate incident in the Misty Mountains – but that of course had been the wrong place to search for support. 'Do it,' Thorin told the burglar. Thank goodness that he was on her side.

Bilbo did as he was told. He searched the bag and pulled out her by now rather worn copy of _The Hobbit_.

'There's a chapter called _Barrels Out of Bond_,' Kate informed him, ignoring his obvious discomfort. Now was not the time to start being afraid of a bit of knowledge. 'I think it's the ninth chapter. In it is described how we will get out of this place successfully. I want you to read it.' She figured she would have Thorin's permission for this course of action since he had already ordered Bilbo to retrieve the novel from the backpack. And now was not the time to ask permission. Now was clearly a time to act.

Bilbo's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. 'You don't mean that, do you? Can't you read it?'

The advisor was tempted to roll her eyes at him. 'I already did. And it would be useless anyway. I'm not the one who has to execute most of the actions detailed in that chapter. That's going to be you.'

Bilbo swayed a little and Kate half expected him to faint on them there and then, but he merely grasped the bars for support, even if he remained too pale to be healthy. 'I can't…'

From the corner of her eyes she could see that the dwarf king was starting to lose patience with the company burglar and rightly so. Bilbo was stalling. 'Yes, you can.' _Oh dear, am I sounding like a certain American president right now_. 'You're braver than you give yourself credit for. Come on, what the hell happened to the hobbit who attacked heavily armed orcs with a mere letter opener and set orcs and wargs alike on fire?' Bilbo could be a brave fellow, of that she had no doubt, but they would never get anywhere until he remembered where he had stored that bravery away. 'And I think the choice is rather simple, Mr Burglar. It's either you doing exactly what is in that chapter or we'll be spending the rest of our lives in this dreadful place. We're depending on _you_ to get us out!' The words were snappy and impatient, but at least they seemed to do the job of reminding the hobbit of what was at stake.

'I see.' By the sound of it, he truly did and Kate was grateful for that fact.

She nodded. 'Good.' She conjured up a smile to compromise for her behaviour only seconds earlier. 'Why don't you sit here with us for a while? I don't think there will be guards for quite some time.'

She was rewarded with a tentative smile in return. Brave hobbit or not, he remained a little frightened and really blame him for that she could not. Had she been in his shoes, she might have done a runner a long time ago. If they ever got out of this prison, she would tell him.

'Thank you,' Bilbo said, sitting down against the bars on his blanket, the book in his hands.

'You're welcome,' the advisor said. She did not tell him the real reason why she had made the offer.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _I'm a first class coward, I'll admit it. But sitting here alone with only Thorin for company, it frightens me now. I know he will not bite my head off, but I can see that he wants to "talk about it" and I'm not sure if I want to. Good grief, I don't even know what I want anymore. But at least Bilbo's presence will, for the moment, forestall any conversation I don't want to have. It's not fair on him, but what he doesn't know, won't hurt him either._

* * *

**Wow, the response for last chapter was overwhelming! I think I replied to every review, but things were a bit chaotic here, so I may have missed out on one or two. And a big thank you for all the guest reviews as well. I really do not thank you enough.**

**And yes, this chapter is a day early. I had said Thursday, but plans change and now I'll be away tomorrow instead of today, so here is the new chapter already.**

**Anyway, I hope you all liked this one. Please review?**


	49. Chapter 49 Escape

**Chapter 49**

**Escape**

_I sometimes wonder if I was the only one who felt so terribly awkward in that cell the next twenty-four hours. Bilbo was only nervous, as could be expected of someone who suddenly found himself responsible for the success of our escape. He fidgeted, toying with the Ring and his clothes while he read the relevant chapter about five times to memorise what needed doing. He asked a few questions and I answered them. He truly was frightened to do what he had to do, but after our discussion earlier that day he had not protested anymore and I was grateful for it._

_Thorin had gone back to sleep while Bilbo was reading. It wasn't like him to do that, but these past few days had been taxing for all of us and Thorin was as affected by it as the rest of us were, even though he tried to deny it. I don't think that he had slept much at all during the march to this horrid place and dwarf or not, by now his body was telling him that he had asked too much of it and he needed to rest before he could go on again. Taken into account that we had to wait now anyway, he might as well make use of the opportunity while it lasted. If everything went according to plan, we would be on the run soon enough and there would be no time to rest then._

_Guards came by every now and then, but Bilbo had discovered there was a creaking stair nearby, which always alerted us to unwanted company in time. Bilbo slipped on his Ring and I pretended to be busy braiding my hair or fixing my clothes whenever they passed by. When we were certain that the elves were gone, Bilbo would slip off the Ring again and we would continue as before. It seemed to me that the guards came by more often than they had been doing before, but I blamed it on their foolish belief that Thorin and I were dangerous._

'_Do you think we can really do this?' Bilbo asked at some point during our little book discussion. I understood where the question came from, because he hardly had any time at all to learn his way through Thranduil's maze of a palace and find the barrels and the armoury, on Thorin's insistence, because he had all but refused to leave without a weapon to defend himself with._

_But an honest answer was not the best option in this case, I reckoned. 'Yes,' I replied, not quite truthfully, because I had a lot of doubts of my own, but Bilbo did not need to know that. 'Yes, I think we can.' And when Bilbo still looked rather sceptical, I added: 'So far things have always gone the way it is written in that book.' _More or less anyway_. 'This time will not be any different.'_

_Lie though it may be, it was enough to reassure the hobbit, so when Thorin woke again after his beauty sleep, Bilbo left to do what needed doing and I took Thorin's place on the mattress to get some sleep myself. What was true for the dwarf king, was also true for me. We all needed to be well rested for the escape we were trying to attempt. I thought the nerves about it would keep me awake for hours, but the discussion and those nerves had tired me out and I fell asleep almost right away…_

**Thorin**

Thorin leaned against the wall of the cell as Kate slept. She had stayed awake to answer Mr Baggins's questions while he had rested and part of him felt bad for it. He knew the book as well, could have helped in some way, yet he had let Kate convince him to take a rest. There was a certain irony in that. The only two women he had listened to before now were his mother and occasionally his sister, and the latter only really when he could not help it. He did not know how and when he had let Kate become the third on that list.

But there were a lot of things he did not understand right now. He did not know why he reacted to Kate the way he did, or how he had even allowed her to claim such a spot in his heart. Because that was what she had done. That kiss had been more than just friendship and more than just an act. And that made the whole thing horribly confusing, scaring. It needn't have been. Had Kate not responded in quite such an enthusiastic way, they could just have put it down to the need to shut her up and the urgent need to make Elvaethor believe that they were a married couple. But she had responded and that had landed them in a situation neither of them were comfortable with.

Because only a fool would miss out on the awkwardness this cell was filled with. Mr Baggins had either not noticed or had the decency to pretend that he had not noticed. Maybe he just put it down to the fact that the kiss, something that was supposedly so intimate that it should be private, had been witnessed by two people. He had blushed rather badly when the topic was mentioned.

Kate hardly dared to meet his eyes. She always found some excuse to look at other things, anything but him. Either she was talking to the burglar, she was inspecting her almost healed wound or she was busy trying to fix her hair or clothes. Normally she had no reservations whatsoever about looking him in the eye and telling him exactly what she thought about a situation. But she did not even really talk to him and if she had to, her cheeks flushed a bright crimson in what could be shame or embarrassment.

And it hurt more than Thorin was willing to admit. He now at least had good reason to believe that his feelings, however undefined, were not one-sided. Kate was no actress. She could not have made it look and feel so real if there was not something there that made her capable of making it look and feel so genuine. Thorin was after all no fool. He could not afford to be when there was an entire people depending on him. But if he was not quite ready to start defining his feelings, Kate was even less so.

She was asleep now on the mattress while Thorin kept watch. She had crawled underneath the blanket and had kept her cloak around her for warmth as well. He could see that she was not quite comfortable, but knew better than to offer to lie down next to her. After what had passed between them, he did not think either of them would be entirely fine with it.

And so he kept his distance, staring towards the abandoned corridor, occasionally glancing at the sleeping advisor. The dungeons were quiet. Even if there were elven patrols, they were so light on their feet Thorin never really heard them approach. Sometimes he only saw them when they were already looking into his cell.

This made him wonder about Elvaethor. He had heard that elf long before he even reached his cell. And he was not very different from others of his kind, apart from his unhealthy and creepy interest in Thorin's relationship with Kate. It was almost, so he pondered, as if that elf had wanted them to know that he was coming.

But not all of the guards were like him unfortunately. Most of them hardly spared him a second glance. They only looked to see if he was still where he was supposed to be and then they were off again. Others looked at him, and most of the time at Kate as well, as if he were an oddity. Knowing elves as he did, Thorin thought it to be a fair guess that most of them had never even seen a dwarf before, not even once in their long lives. They were simply curious, in the way young children were curious about all things that were unknown to them. There did not seem to be any malice behind their inquisitive glances, but they were still their captors, still their enemies and Thorin rewarded their looks with as fierce a glare as he could muster. They were always gone quickly after that.

It was the last category Thorin had a true problem with. Those were the truly old elves, the ones who actually remembered the wars of the First Age and who, consequently, hated all dwarves with a passion, completely ignoring the fact that even if their version of the tale was accurate – which Thorin rather doubted, knowing the elves' tendency to twist every story so that it only suited them – there was still not a chance that Thorin could be held responsible for those events. He had not been born and even his kin had had no part in those wars.

Of course it would be no good to try and tell the elves that. They were too convinced that the entire dwarven race was to blame, too convinced that all dwarves were in essence the same and therefore would always be prone to commit crimes like that again. And elves' memories were very long indeed and they kept grudges better than any other race in Middle Earth.

Those guards looked at Thorin as if he was worth less than the mud under their shoes. He met their gazes defiantly, cloaking himself in a dignified silence, even as they insulted him. It was the right thing to be doing. And he would not lose what little dignity he still had left by losing control over himself. They would not get the satisfaction of humiliating him in such a manner.

His resolve to remain silent was severely tested though by the time most of the afternoon had passed, or so he supposed, since time was hard to keep track of in this darkness. This time he did actually hear his visitor approach. Because this was a visitor. He had more or less worked out the guards' schedule and it was too early for them to show up again already. This was someone who had come here with a specific purpose and Thorin found himself wishing for some kind of weapon. Mahal knew he would hate for that Elvaethor to show up again.

There was one silver lining about this: it wasn't Elvaethor. Unfortunately it was one of the two people Thorin liked to see even less. It wasn't his sworn enemy, it was his nephew, Thorin's very own pain in the behind. Galas, now dressed in those impractical elven robes instead of the practical clothing he had worn while he was with the patrol, came strutting into the corridor.

'Well, well,' he said. 'Look who we have here. Thorin, son of Thráin, son of Thrór.' The tone of voice was unmistakably mocking.

_That took you long enough to figure out_. Thorin's mental voice once again sounded an awful lot like the company advisor's, but he kept his silence for now. He was not going to give Galas the satisfaction of an answer. Speaking about practising what one preached. It would seem Kate had a point with that.

For some reason Thorin's silence annoyed the elf all the more. The look on his face darkened, and it had never been very pleasant to begin with. 'You lied about your name,' he said in an accusing manner.

'I did,' Thorin confirmed calmly. There was after all no denying it. He might as well own up to it and relish in the fact that he had been able to outwit an elf.

'It's a dishonourable thing to do.' Galas spoke those words as if he had expected no less from someone of Thorin's kind, as if the fact that he did not lie about his name made him a better person, of a superior race, than the dwarf king.

And said dwarf did not think Thranduil's nephew was in any position to lecture anyone on dishonourable behaviour. 'Then what do you call people who hit women with the hilt of their sword just because they speak words the receiver does not want to hear?' he countered calmly. Dignified silence would not work on this elf. And Thorin was not sure he wanted to remain quiet when this one hurled insult after insult at his head. He may be locked inside this cell, but that did not mean he was prepared to swallow everything the elves threw at him. And if he was really honest, angering Galas was good fun as well. And Mahal knew that was a hard thing to come by.

And angered was exactly what the elf was. He looked at Thorin as if he wanted nothing better than to rip him to pieces, but that would get blood on those fine robes of his, so Thorin didn't think he'd risk it, provided he had the necessary bodily strength for it and the dwarf knew for a fact that he had not.

It pleased him even more that the elf was unable to come up with an answer to Thorin's accusations. No culture in Middle Earth looked kindly on hitting women and elves, who prided themselves on being the most civilised race in the world, least of all. Galas had done something dishonourable, although he would never admit to that of course. Thorin had not expected anything else from him.

'You lied,' he repeated, choosing to ignore the accusation altogether.

'I did,' Thorin confirmed again. 'And you let yourself be lied to.'

Galas's eyes narrowed and even though Thorin knew that if this would ever come to a real fight, he would come out as victor, he still felt a cold shiver go down his spine. Galas was not someone to be trifled with and he had more effective ways to fight an enemy, especially when said enemy was already in a cell. He had his status as royalty and that was as effective a weapon as any blade and as good a thing to hide behind as any shield. As long as Thorin had known him, which was for quite some time, come to think of it, he had done so. He had already used his royal status to prevent the dwarves of Erebor from hitting him square in the face, as he doubtlessly deserved. Thorin remembered that diplomatic visit all too well and if anything, it had solidified his already very low opinion of elves.

'You knew me long ago,' Thorin reminded Thranduil's nephew. 'It is not my mistake that you did not remember, even if your uncle still did. You could have known who I was, you could have known I had lied to you right from the start, yet you didn't.' He kept his voice calm and almost patient, the way he had always done when he was explaining things to Fíli and Kíli when they were little. It was a better way of getting on Galas's nerves than biting remarks. That would not be dignified, but this was in its own unique way.

And Galas was the one losing his patience and therefore his dignity here. The elf may be hundreds of years older than Thorin, but he was not acting it. Maybe he had been so spoiled all his life that he had never learned to properly behave like an adult. Thorin would not rule out that option.

'My king wants you gone from this place,' he informed him.

_I'm not really anxious to hang around here for much longer myself_. Once again his mental voice sounded a lot like Kate. He had to be careful with that, he reminded himself. Getting attached to the company advisor would only end up in heartbreak.

'Then you should let us go,' the dwarf replied. 'We did not ask for this particular brand of elvish hospitality.' He truly had spent too much time around the advisor. He was starting to sound like her, no matter how much he tried to avoid it. But at least it was an affliction Kate was suffering from as well. Sometimes she could copy his tone of voice so well, it was as if she had stolen it from him, a strange thought indeed.

'Oh, we will,' Galas said nonchalantly. 'But we will have your word first.'

Of course there was a catch. There always was when the elves were involved. And of course they asked the one thing Thorin would never give to them. Because he had meant what he had told Thranduil: he would rather die than give up on his quest. They had come too far already. He would not turn around now to live the rest of his days in exile.

But it was about more than his own pride and his own longing to have a place to call home again. He had a whole people who needed a home, a place to live, a place where they would not be looked down upon the way they were now. His people were a proud people and exile was a humiliation. And as their king, Thorin owed it to them to give them the best he could. Balin had been right when he had told Thorin they had a life of peace and plenty in Ered Luin, but it was not as much peace and as much plenty as they had had when they had lived in Erebor.

He had been willing to put up with it for decades, because there had been no opportunity to do anything about it, but then Gandalf had come with the key, the one that was now hidden on Kate's person in a place Thorin rather not spent too much time thinking about. There was an opportunity and, if the escape was successful tonight, they might still be in time for Durin's Day. He would not give up and he would not give Thranduil, or that arrogant nephew of his for that matter, what he wanted.

'You will not have it,' Thorin told the elf icily.

The smile on the elf's face was disturbing, even more so because it was directed at Kate's still sleeping form. 'There are more ways than one to ensure a prisoner's cooperation,' he informed the dwarf.

Said dwarf felt as if his stomach had been twisted into knots. He knew exactly what Galas was implying. 'You would sink to the orcs' level to get what you want?' he growled. That was low, really low, especially for elves, who were so proud of their civilised manners, who always claimed they didn't do things like that. It would seem that in this regard the elven race had some rotten apples after all and Galas was decidedly one of them.

'Only if you force our hand.' The elf was entirely too relaxed about this and it made Thorin's blood boil. He would torture an innocent woman to make Thorin give his word to return to the other side of the Misty Mountains? But Galas had already shown a remarkable disregard for Kate's female status when he had first knocked her out. He should not be surprised.

'You do not touch my sister!' The words were growled with such anger as Thorin himself at the time experienced and the voice to growl those words was very familiar. The dwarf king had just not expected to hear it here, because the owner of said voice was supposed to be locked up in a cell somewhere else in Thranduil's maze of a dungeon.

Galas turned around, but he was already too late to react. He had been so caught up in taunting Thorin that he had failed to pay any attention to his surroundings and that was costing him. He swivelled around, only to be met with a very angry and undeniably violent Dori.

'What…?' was all he managed to say.

'You. Do. Not. Touch. My. Sister.' Every word was emphasised by a hit of Dori's fist. Kate's brother did not have a weapon, but he didn't need to. He was one of the strongest dwarves in the company. If he really wanted to do damage, all he needed to do was to clench his fists and swing them around.

And that was exactly what he was doing now. He stomped the elf twice in the stomach before said elf could even begin to think to call out an alarm or make any move to defend himself. Thranduil's nephew doubled over as a reflex, allowing Dori to reach his head, on which he landed the next four blows in rapid succession. By the time Dori was finished speaking and dealing out Galas's judgement for threatening Kate, the elf was lying motionless on the floor, out cold. Thorin only regretted the fact that he had not been the one to put him there.

'Thank you,' he told Dori.

'My pleasure,' was the grim reply. Thorin thought it to be a fair guess to say that he meant that. Knocking out this arrogant elf as a payment for the threats he had made against the advisor had been a pleasure to him. Dori was a decent and gentle fellow for most of the time, but when one was as foolish as to attack his family, he had really no limits. And Kate was family to him, even if it was only by choice and not by blood. Thorin respected him for it. It was obvious that the dwarf with the elaborate hairdo was protective of Kate and Mahal knew she needed people to look after her, not that he would ever be heard to tell her, because then it might just be her who ripped his head off.

Kate suddenly seemed to be wide awake and Thorin strongly suspected her to have been all along. She had done so before, so he should not be surprised that she had done it again. The advisor got up in one fluent motion. 'You have no idea how glad I am to see you,' she told her brother. 'How did you get out?'

'The burglar,' Dori replied. 'He should be here with the key any moment. I decided to go ahead when we learned that elf had gone down here. And just in time, it would seem.'

Just in time indeed. Thorin did not really think Galas would have gone through with his threats, not right away anyway. But he might have done another day, had they not been escaping this night. But Dori's help truly came just in time. Thorin would never know now if he would have been able to keep his temper in check, but he doubted it and then he would have reached through the bars to strangle Galas, regardless of the consequences. Had the elves seen that, they would have found themselves in a very tight spot. It was only when he realised that, that he also realised he had been prepared to kill in cold blood for Kate's sake and this did nothing whatsoever to put an end to the inner chaos he was still experiencing when it came to the woman.

Fortunately he had distraction near at hand, because the hobbit ran into the corridor. He looked rather flustered and one look at the unconscious elf intensified that in tenfold. 'Oh, dear me,' he muttered. 'Was that really necessary?'

'Yes.' Thorin felt a little uncomfortable when he found Dori and he had given the same answer simultaneously.

Kate had noticed it too. She tried and failed to bite back a smile. 'He had it coming, Bilbo,' she informed the hobbit. 'For being a spoiled arrogant bastard.'

Thorin found it impossible to argue with that. 'Get us out,' he commanded. Really, this was not the time for the hobbit to remember that knocking people out was not the honourable thing to do. They had an escape to make. 'The guards?' he informed.

It was Dori who answered that question. 'Most of them had to be knocked out,' he replied calmly. He sounded wholly unconcerned and Thorin shared the sentiment. The elves had kept them prisoner under truly humiliating circumstances. They needed to get a taste of their own medicine in Thorin's opinion.

Bilbo did not seem to share that opinion, but he kept his opinion to himself, which was a good thing. He fumbled with the keys he held in his hands and unlocked the door. 'We do not have very much time,' he said.

Kate would have told him that was stating the obvious, but they did not have any time for that. Thorin simply nodded his agreement and stepped out of the cell, Kate following in his wake. And Mr Baggins had been the one to get them out of this place in the first place. Thorin supposed that for just this once he could go a little easier on the burglar.

Kate looked at the elf, a frown on her forehead. 'What shall we do with him?' she wondered.

'Leave him,' Thorin said. 'He's still breathing. He will wake eventually.'

The advisor looked him in the eyes for what the dwarf believed the first time since before the kiss, a mischievous twinkle in hers. 'Actually, I have a better plan…'

**Kate**

It was more than satisfactory to see Galas the Annoying dragged into the cell that had held her not so very long ago. The elf was still unconscious, so Dori and Thorin had no trouble at all moving him. Thranduil's nephew's fine robes dragged over the not quite clean floor, which in Kate's opinion was an added bonus. She didn't think of herself as the vengeful type, but she was happy to make an exception for this one. He had been the one to knock her out and mock her for most of the journey. Kate was not about to forget that anytime soon.

And it was strange that she was more and more choosing the dwarves' side in the conflict between elves and dwarves. She had loved Tolkien's work and found the elvish history as he had written it fascinating. So when she had come to Middle Earth for real, even if she had not come willingly, or quietly, she had imagined that the elves would be nice, good beings. _The Hobbit_ movie surely had exaggerated when they were concerned.

It turned out that she had never been so wrong in her life. Elves annoyed her. There really was no other word for it. The Rivendell ones had not been too bad, all things considered, but these Mirkwood elves were making her want to bash their heads against the walls of their own dungeons, and that was not something Kate Andrews was prone to think. She did not consider herself a violent person. It would seem this new Kate was a lot of things the old Kate was not. She had still to decide if that was a change for the better or not. Somehow she doubted it.

'Serves him right,' she commented as Galas was dropped unceremoniously onto the floor. The advisor suspected the king of dropping the elf not on the mattress but next to it on the cold, hard ground on purpose. She couldn't blame him.

'Indeed,' Dori agreed.

Bilbo was fidgeting with his clothes near the entrance of the cell, visibly anxious to go and go this very minute, preferably before anything could go wrong. And Kate agreed with him there. It would be very foolish to wait until the next elven patrol would come around.

'Let's go,' she said. Thorin was more likely to take it from her than he was to take it from the hobbit. They had made some kind of truce after Azog's first attack on their party, even if it had not really been agreed upon. But that agreement was more of the kind that prevented Thorin from bothering the hobbit. He had come to see Bilbo's qualities, of this Kate was certain, but he wasn't the kind of person to say such a thing. It just was not in his character. And today she did not think he would have any patience for the fussing burglar.

She got a curt nod in response and so she turned around to set the example herself. It was more of a way not to look at the dwarf, though. She knew that and she also knew that they could not go on like this indefinitely. People would start to notice if they did. But the kiss still confused her and she could not for the life of her tell if it had been nothing but an act or that there had been more to it. Her common sense settled on the act, because nothing was more important to Thorin than the quest. He had made that quite clear on various occasions. He would do whatever it took to make sure it succeeded and apparently that included kissing her as a way to shut her up. Friends they were and nothing more. Good grief, they had been trying to get their companions to see that for months now, had been trying to tell them on countless occasions. And Kate's feelings on that subject may have changed, but that did not mean Thorin's had too.

Bilbo quickly took the lead. He may be a little fussy, but he knew what he was doing and where he was going, which was more than could be said for the dwarves and woman. Kate knew she must have walked here before, but that was all a bit of a blur and she could not really recall which route they had taken then. It might have been a different route altogether. All these hallways and staircases looked the same to her.

'Thanks, Bilbo,' she told the hobbit when at long last they came to the top of the stairs. Her legs were cramping after so many steps and she thought that going down those stairs was decidedly easier than ascending them, which no doubt was exactly what the elves intended.

Speaking of elves, there did not seem to be very many of them at all. Kate saw some of the elvish guards, but they were all taking an involuntary nap, having been knocked out by escaped dwarves. On first thought this seemed suspicious to her, because it didn't seem like a very elvish thing to do, but then she remembered that there was a feast going on somewhere in the palace and that, according to the book, most of Thranduil's people were too busy being merry, that they could hardly be bothered to check on their prisoners. That was what made this night so ideal for an escape in the first place.

'It was as your book predicted,' the hobbit said, trying to be modest, but failing to keep the smug edge out of his voice. For just this once, he may be entitled to it, because book knowledge or not, this had been quite a feat and Kate was impressed. 'The captain of the guard and the butler went to taste the wine, but it was too strong for them and now they are both sleeping.'

Kate had a very amusing mental picture of Elvaethor lying with his head on some table or other, merrily snoring the night away – if elves did such an ordinary thing as snoring – and having to come to the unpleasant conclusion in the morning that his prisoners had gone AWOL while he had been drunk. The thought was one that made her smile.

On Thorin's insistence they visited the armoury first. Kate would have skipped it. Weapons were no good when one was trapped in a barrel and if the book was right, then they would be provided with new ones in Lake-town. She was not particularly attached to her own sword, even if it was a beautiful one and relatively easy to handle. All the things she needed were in the bag she had quickly taken back from Bilbo once he had gotten them out of their prison cell. She felt reassured having it with her. It contained her last links to home, the evidence that the old Kate had even existed. Lately she felt like she was in danger of forgetting that with everything else that was going on.

And this little trip would only cost them valuable time. She did not feel comfortable with it, but Thorin was adamant about it and when he was in one of those moods, she knew better than to protest. And maybe she too would feel somewhat safer if she had a way to defend herself. Lately she had come to realise that she was more of a fighter than she had believed herself to be. This did definitely not mean that her fighting skills had improved, but it did mean that she wanted a chance to defend herself properly and so she kept her mouth well and truly shut when the company burglar guided them towards the armoury.

It was positively huge. For some reason this freaked her out a little. How were they going to find their weapons in here? What did the elves need so many weapons for in the first place? They lived secluded, not anywhere near any form of civilisation as far as Kate was aware. They did not seem to have any real enemies, apart from the spiders that were populating the area maybe. Dol Guldur was far to the south. Kate did not think Sauron could do very much in this region apart from sickening the forest. Of course that was a bad thing to begin with, but it did make Kate wonder.

In the end the company, most of which had already been there when Kate's little group arrived, had little difficulty in locating their weapons. Their possessions had been more or less kept together and were hard to overlook to begin with. Kate frowned. It was as if their things had been put on display for all to see. Or, so she wondered, it was almost as if someone had _wanted_ them to find it.

'Here, take it.' Thorin's voice snapped her out of her musings. Kate looked up to see he was holding out Excalibur to her.

She risked a quick smile at him, before looking at the sword, as if to inspect it. That may of course be part of it, but it wasn't all of it. _You rotten coward_. 'Thank you.' The thing was that she could hardly look at him without blushing like a village idiot and that had to stop, sooner rather than later. She was making a fool out of herself behaving like a lovesick teenager and they had far more important things going on than that at the moment. Her personal feelings would have to wait till later and if the best way to achieve that was to stay away from Thorin, then that was what she would be doing.

'I want you to take this as well.' Thorin was clearly not yet finished and she was forced to look up again, because not doing so would undeniably be rude.

It turned out that he was holding a dagger. She supposed it was elvish, since she could not remember seeing it with any of them before now. It was quite distinctive. Kate was sure she would have recognised it if she had chanced upon it before now.

She raised an eyebrow, deciding that humour might just be the best way to deal with situations like these. 'Stealing from our hosts now?' she inquired mockingly. 'What has the world come to?' This, this teasing she could still do without blushing. It had always been her personal kind of shield. It protected her from fear, from anger and seemingly from embarrassment as well.

Thorin recognised it for what it was, but thank goodness went along with it. 'Look at it as payment,' he suggested. 'To make up for the inconvenience they have caused us.'

'Oh, I will,' Kate said, taking the dagger from him, taking care to avoid touching his skin as she did so. 'It's very… thoughtful of our hosts to make up for their behaviour in such a way.' She cracked a smile. It did relieve the tension somewhat.

Thorin chuckled as well, which was a very welcome sound. 'That's the elves for you, Kate. They are very thoughtful creatures when they put their minds to it.'

_Thorin Oakenshield, being sarcastic? Whatever next?_ 'I'll believe it when I see it,' she said.

The chuckling died away. 'Kate?' It was something of a command mixed up with a hesitant question, not a combination the advisor was used to when it came to this dwarf.

She looked up at him, telling herself that she was not going to blush this time. She was a grown woman and she could keep a sodding grip on herself and her treacherous emotions. 'Yes?'

The look in his eyes was both intense and determined, a tell-tale sign that he was passionate about the thing he was about to discuss and there was no way that she would be able to sway his mind on the subject, not without a truly massive fight at any rate and that was not something she was looking particularly forward to, certainly not in the middle of what could be called enemy territory. They had better things to do.

'When we arrive in Lake-town, we need to talk,' the dwarf said. It was more of a command than a request. There was not a chance that she could wriggle herself out of this, not when the idea had gotten stuck in that thick skull of his.

She favoured him with a very non-enthusiastic nod. 'I know.' It did not make her like the prospect though. If she had her way, then they would just ignore the elephant in the room for the rest of the quest. At least that meant that she would never be forced tell Thorin the truth about her feelings for him, because they were there. If anything had proven that to her, then this involuntary stay in Thranduil's dungeons had.

And she feared it far worse than she probably should. Thorin might already know what she felt for him. Her enthusiastic response to the kiss was a dead giveaway. But her fear was no longer about her own feelings; it was the fear for Thorin's reaction that made her so nervous about this. Because when they had that conversation he would inevitably tell her that nothing could ever come of that one kiss. Even worse, he would tell her that he did not think of her in such a way and that would hurt. Because Kate was starting to think of him in a different way in spite of her own wishes, and she did not think that their friendship would be able to survive such a blow.

But her confirmation was enough to satisfy him for the time being and when the time for talk came, she would think of some excuse, something to keep him at arm's length. It would not be fair on Thorin, but it would be best for both of them.

'Good,' he said. 'Come.'

Bilbo was the one to lead them again. Most of the company was none too happy about letting a hobbit take the lead, but Bilbo irritably snapped that if they all knew so well, they should lead on and that stopped the comments pretty much dead in their tracks. Kate tried to stifle a bark of laughter. If only the hobbit knew how much he sounded like a certain wizard in that moment. Gandalf might have said the same thing in the exact same tone of voice.

Kate hung back, walking with Nori instead of the king she was supposed to be advising. Her adoptive brother sported a shiner that he had gotten when he had spat a guard in his face when said guard came to deliver food, so he confessed in a hushed voice when he saw Dori was otherwise occupied. At her urging she found out that he had told Dori he had walked into a wall when the elves had thrown him in the cell. Kate thought that it was rather ridiculous that he would be afraid of Dori's reaction when their older brother had been the one to molest an elf, which was decidedly more serious than spitting one in the eyes. It made both of them giggle like idiots.

Kate blamed the nerves for her altogether foolish behaviour. She did not normally act this childish. But joking seemed to be the way to deal with tension and there was quite a lot of that. There had not been so much at first, when the excitement of their escape still made her feel practically invincible, but it was there now. There were still very many things that could go wrong. There had just to be one elven guard in this part of the palace who raised the alarm for the entire plan to go belly-up. No matter what she had said to Bilbo, what was written in the book was no guarantee that everything would go the way they wanted it to go. But she kept that to herself for now. Most of her friends were nervous enough as it was. There was no reason why she should share that particular piece of information with them. It would only make them worry as well and last she checked worrying had never solved a single thing.

There were not many elven guards in this part of the castle and come to think of it, why should there be? Who would want to guard a couple of empty barrels, especially on the night that the elven king was celebrating only goodness knows what? He might even be celebrating the capture of the dwarves for all Kate knew. He seemed the type to do such a thing.

She thanked her lucky stars Thranduil was blissfully unaware of the book and its contents or he'd have posted more guards here. But it would seem that her words to Bilbo would turn out to be true. The cellar they had entered was empty, save for the barrels and the very drunk and sleeping figures of Elvaethor and another elf, who Kate suspected to be the butler the book had mentioned. Apart from the snoring, the scene was exactly as she had imagined it to be. Clearly elves were too perfect to do something as normal and annoying as snoring.

'That's a stroke of luck,' Bofur commented as he too took in the situation. A big contagious smile appeared on his face. 'Well done, Bilbo!'

Bilbo coloured a bright red at the praise. 'I had help,' he muttered, sending a meaningful glance in Kate's direction.

He was right of course and the advisor knew that. But it had been Bilbo who had executed all their plans and at great personal risk as well. Maybe she should just do the right thing for once and give praise where it was due. 'He's right,' she told the hobbit. 'Great work.'

Even Thorin nodded his agreement, which had to be a first. He had never liked the burglar much and even now he was not inclined to stop and really praise him. 'Get in the barrels,' he ordered them.

Bombur looked a bit peaky, but that might have something to do with him wondering if there would be a barrel big enough to hold him. Kate glanced over at the barrels and conceded that he may have a point. There were one or two that might do, but _might_ was definitely the operative word.

She was glancing around to pick her own barrel when she caught sight of Elvaethor again. That would not be so very dramatic at all, had the elf not had his eyes open. His head was still in the same position on the table, but he was not sleeping. Her stomach dropped. They had been discovered and by the very elf who had appeared to be on their side at that. For all his talk about happy endings and his care for Kate's wound he had seemed like some sort of friend, if not a very reliable friend at that.

She froze into place, but none of her friends noticed. They were far too busy climbing into barrels and asking Bilbo to fill them up with straw to prevent them from being bruised and battered to pieces, with which they had a point. Kate contemplated killing the elf before he had a chance to raise the alarm, but felt reluctant to do so because he had been kind to her in his own unique way. Murdering him seemed like poor repayment. But she could not let him ruin the plan either.

She was saved from having to make such a decision by Elvaethor himself. The elf caught sight of her and then, of all things to be doing, winked as if he was in on the whole plan and approved of it.

That was when the pieces of the puzzle started falling into place. Elvaethor's babbling about happy endings for songs, the obvious lack of guards in the dungeons this night, the weapons that had been all too easy to find… And then there was the fact that he was watching this, clearly having no intention to do anything to stop it. What did that elf think he was even doing? Was he really on their side? What was he playing at? If she was thinking correctly, then he might even have been the one to make that guard so drunk that he was out cold, an idea that was only strengthened by the notion that Elvaethor himself seemed to be perfectly sober.

But that would indicate that he had known they were planning to escape tonight in the first place and he could not have known that. Not unless he had listened to every single thing she had discussed with Bilbo last night. It was a possibility. The elves walked so quietly one could hardly hear them. Elvaethor could have listened in, but the question remained that it made absolutely no sense for him to betray his king to help this company. It didn't add up.

'Bilbo, do you still have the keys?' she asked of the hobbit, making a spur of the moment decision.

Said hobbit nodded. 'Yes.'

'Give them to me,' the advisor all but commanded. 'I'll return them to the captain of the guards. He isn't half bad as elves go and he has been kind to us. And Thranduil might suspect him of setting us free if he can't produce those sodding keys.' There, now she had made it sound like the Right Thing to do. And if she was right, then Elvaethor had been an immense help with this prison break. The theory still sounded insane, but it was the only logical explanation of the facts.

'He has done nothing for us,' Thorin said dismissively.

The burglar handed the keys over in spite of Thorin's grumbling and got on with his task as Kate marched over to the elf to put the keys back in the pocket of his coat. She was not sure that this was where they had come from in the first place, but this did allow her to lean over, so that she could talk, or rather whisper to him without anyone noticing.

'What on earth are you playing at?' she demanded in a low whisper.

'Playing, my lady?' the elf whispered back. He kept his eyes closed, but he was awake.

'Stop messing around,' the advisor hissed. 'I know you helped us escape tonight and I think you overheard several conversations as well. What I don't know is why.' And somehow it seemed very important that she knew exactly why Elvaethor had done what he had done, because it was so unusual for an elf to do what he did.

The smallest hint of a smile showed on the elf's face as Kate put the keys away. 'Does not every song deserve a worthy end, my lady?'

That was it? That was the reason he threw his orders to the wind and risked his life to help them escape? All because he believed in happy endings, even if those happy endings had to be helped along somewhat? Had this come from any other elf than Elvaethor, Kate would have been suspicious right away. But this was Elvaethor and he was a dreamer, she had come to learn in the time she had known him.

'You are completely insane,' she informed him, because that was the truth. 'But thank you.' Because insane this may be, he was the one to help them to get away from this place. And Thranduil could better not find out about that, or Elvaethor was a dead elf walking.

'Kate, hurry up!' Dori called over at her. A quick glance over her shoulder revealed Dori already half lowered into a barrel, but not about to sit back before he knew for certain that his family was accounted for. His concern made Kate smile.

'Coming,' she replied. 'I'm almost done.'

She turned back to find Elvaethor smiling again, his eyes open. 'Until we meet again, Lady Kate.' He closed his eyes and returned to his state of pretend sleep.

The advisor took that as her cue to leave. She took the barrel next to Glóin and waited for Bilbo to close the lid over her head.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _I don't think I'd have believed it possible for an elf to be on our side, but it would seem that miracles never cease. Elvaethor is a mystery and an annoying one, but he did risk his life for us, and all for some stupid happy ending. What would he be, the elvish equivalent of a village idiot?_

* * *

**And there we have the escape and Galas has been taken down a peg or two, as several of you requested. Come on, he could not really get away with this, could he?**

**This update's a few hours earlier than usual, but I'll be away for a large part of the day and I am not quite sure for how long yet, so I thought I'd update a few hours earlier. According to this site it's not yet Sunday, but it is here, so here goes. **

**Next time there'll be barrels. Until then, reviews would mean a lot. I'd love to hear your opinion.**


	50. Chapter 50 Tossed and Turned

**Chapter 50**

**Tossed and Turned**

_The barrel escape. It has often been described as the most original way to exit an elvish palace against the owner's wishes. It had never been done before and to my knowledge it has never been done after, not in the last place because Thranduil started to guard that unlikely exit the way a dragon guards its plunder. I have this from a very reliable source, because I never felt the need to go back and see it for myself. Despite the fact that we are not at war with Mirkwood and we have reasonably well functioning trade relations – note the use of the word reasonable – it would not be a wise idea to actually show our heads there. In my world people would say that we were persona non grata, but that language is not actually in use in Middle Earth. Let's just say that we are less than welcome guests. And of course we were never too keen on visiting ourselves._

_So yes, I have heard our barrel escape being described as original and daring. It was both, but if I should be looking for the correct way to describe it, I would call it reckless and completely insane. I don't know what Tolkien was thinking when he wrote that part of his book, but I started to doubt his sanity. Could he not have thought of another way to have the company escape that horrid place? A secret tunnel would have done as well. Of course that would not make for a very exiting chapter in a book, but by the time we were about to escape in those blasted barrels I did not care for excitement. Boring and mundane sounded like heaven, so naturally it didn't happen._

_But that too is one of the things that never made it to your bedtime stories. And for this we might be forgiven, I believe. Because you were children and you liked to hear epic tales of heroic deeds and daring escapes, so that was what we gave to you. And you loved it. I can still see you begging Thorin for that story, even when you could tell it better than we could by that time. Of course your father never minded telling it, since he was rather fond of it himself. I have a lingering suspicion that he banished the unpleasant details to the back of his mind._

_Maybe you even loved it too much. This particularly occurred to me the day my two eldest sons decided to recreate the story by trying to sail down the River Running in unused mead barrels you had stolen from somewhere. Thoren, Thráin, I don't think you were aware of the danger, but Mahal knows we were. You could have gotten yourself hurt or even killed doing that, had Duria not chickened out of the plan at the last minute and run to us to inform us what was going on._

_I think the two of you were already in the barrels, trying to roll yourselves into the current when we came out. Yes, I know we shouted at you and I don't think that was a particularly wise thing to be doing, but oh dears, did you scare me that day. I think a few of my hairs turned grey instantly because of that one event._

_We had of course forgotten to add the _don't try this at home_ warning when we told you the story – consider it given now – but maybe the account of the real event as we experienced it, will tell you why we were so upset when you tried to copy it…_

**Kate**

Kate was having a minor panic attack the moment Bilbo closed the lid over her head. Her barrel was filled with a lot of straw to protect her from the impact of the shocks and bumps she was bound to experience in the coming hours, but this also meant that she was sitting in a cramped position and could hardly lift a finger. That was more terrifying than she was ready to admit. And then there was the fact that she could not see a thing. It was as dark around her as it had been in Mirkwood at night and that forest did not hold many fond memories at all.

_Get a grip on yourself, girl_, she ordered herself. _You're a grown woman and this is the only way you'll get out. Stop being such a big baby._

Her mental scolding helped, but only a little. Because Kate Andrews had never been a hero. She was not one of the world's biggest cowards – because the biggest cowards did not call wargs nice doggies and didn't knock out orcs with wooden shields – but she did come close. And she wanted out, consequences be damned. She had never been really terrified of the dark and she had never been claustrophobic, but then, she had not been afraid of heights until she took a flight by eagle either. This journey made her feel a lot of things she had not experienced before, it would seem.

But getting out now was not an option. Kate listened intently to what was going on outside her barrel and at first there did not seem too much noise. Most of her friends had already been packed away in barrels by the time she had finished her confusing conversation with Elvaethor and Bilbo did not have a lot of work left to do.

She did wonder about that elf, did wonder what he was up to. Elves, she had come to learn, never revealed all their plans to the world and Elvaethor was probably no exception. All that inane babbling about love of happy endings was probably no more than that: babbling. Elves always were up to something.

If she had not known better, she'd have said that he wanted Erebor restored to its former glory, because helping Thorin escape certainly indicated that. Not that this made sense at all, because elves did not like strong dwarven kingdoms in their backyards. Not that they liked dangerous dragons any better, but Smaug had not shown his ugly face for nigh on sixty years. It would be a logical assumption that they would not be troubled much by him. So what did Elvaethor want?

Thinking about it probably was not going to help her very much. Who could ever know what was going on inside an elvish head anyway? Only time would tell, but that was not something Kate liked very much. She liked certainties in her life and the fact that she knew next to nothing about Elvaethor unnerved her. And the book was not a great deal of help either. The book never even named him.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of happy voices coming into the cellar. 'Where's Galion, the butler?' Kate heard one of them ask. 'I haven't seen him at the tables tonight. He ought to be here now to show us what is to be done.' The voice sounded a little annoyed, displeased with the butler's absence. Of course Galion was not absent at all. _Just in mind, not in body._

'I shall be very angry if the old slowcoach is late.' Another elf sounded even more annoyed, possibly because he had been dragged from the feast while he just wanted to have fun. His next words only confirmed that. 'I have no wish to waste time down here while the song is up.'

These elves reminded Kate of the Rivendell elves: silly and song-loving. They were apparently not too different from their kinsmen on the other side of the Misty Mountains. The only thing in which they really differed was their treatment of dwarves. When amongst their own, they were just as fond of music and feasts as the Rivendell elves. And Kate remembered that Tolkien had described the Mirkwood elves as good folk, just a little more suspicious than others of their kind. It was just because Kate had been on the receiving end of aforementioned suspicion that she had not seen them for what they really were. Or rather, she _had_ seen them for what they really were. She had just not seen all of it. But she doubted she would ever have seen this side of them had she not been hidden in a barrel. Her association with the company of Thorin Oakenshield had made sure that they would never see her in a better light.

'Oh,' someone else said. Well, it was more like a yawn than an actual word. Kate imagined the owner of the voice just stretched and then took in his surroundings, but she could not see a single thing. All she had to go on was her hearing. She sorely missed the additional information her eyes could have provided her with. But it could not be helped. She was locked up in this bloody barrel and that might last for quite a while.

'Ah, did you begin a little feast of your own, Elvaethor?' the first elf asked.

Elvaethor had been the one to "wake" now? Galion the Butler must still be asleep then. Oh, this really was a messed up version of the book, but Kate did wonder to what extent this was just the book messed up. If she was thinking correctly, the captain of the guards played a large part in this as well.

'We had to do something to pass the time while you fellows drunk and made merry up at the king's palace,' the red-haired elf retorted. 'I'll wager you almost forgot your tasks, maybe even on purpose.' There was an underlying tone of stern disapproval, as if he was lecturing the elves that had just arrived. 'It's a small wonder we fell asleep.'

'Small wonder when wine stands close at hand in a jug!' the second elf laughed.

'Watch your tongue, Cenion,' Elvaethor's voice said. He sounded stern, the true captain of the guards who reprimanded his subordinate. There was no trace now of the dreamy and happy-ending-loving elf now. That did not necessarily mean that that had been a mask. Elves could be both silly and dead serious, Kate had come to learn. It did make things ridiculously confusing and the elves themselves unpredictable.

What the company advisor was rather sure of though was the notion that Elvaethor would not betray their presence to these new arrivals. Whatever his game was, it was not to stop the company from escaping the dungeons. That at least was a relief.

'I beg your pardon.' Cenion sounded somewhat apologetic.

'I should hope so. Be off with you. You know what to do.' Elvaethor sounded rather icy, a lot like Thorin actually, and Kate started to realise why he was captain of the guards. At first she had not understood that at all, because if anything the elf seemed like the elvish equivalent of a village idiot, but apparently he could do stern and commanding as well.

One of the elves groaned. Again Kate wished she could see something, anything at all. She had heard only two besides Elvaethor, but that did not mean there could not be more. It was utterly dark in here and elves could move so softly they would never hear them coming at all.

Her wondering about the number of elves quickly vanished when she could hear the sound of barrels being moved about. Suddenly the thought that she was going to be rolled down a trap door into a cold and swift-flowing river was all too present in her mind. Kate had never liked rollercoasters and something told her that this was going to be a lot worse than that. Water might come in, fill the barrel, sink it and she would not be able to get out. She would be alone in the dark, drowning and no one would miss her until Lake-town and by then it would be far too late for help.

The panic was trying to work its way into her head and Kate had to work hard to keep herself from voicing that panic in a scream. No one would thank her for doing that, the company least of all, not when the prison break had been extremely successful thus far.

_Get a grip, Andrews_, she told herself sternly. _This is your only chance to get out of here, so you will _not_ act like a baby._ This realisation helped some, but not much. Her mind knew this was the only way she would ever get out of this place and if she did not want to spend the rest of her life in that dark, claustrophobia-inducing dungeon, then she would keep quiet and stay in this barrel until they were far, far away from this horrible palace and its king.

This did not make her dread what was about to happen to her any less though. All around her barrels were being moved and it wasn't long before she heard the first one fall into the water below the cellar. That might be one of her friends in that barrel. Her stomach tied itself into tight knots.

'Elvaethor, I am sure that this wine has addled your wits,' one of the barrel-pushing elves remarked. 'These are the full casks you have us pull out, not the empty ones, if there is anything in weight.'

Kate imagined that the captain of the guards unleashed an icy glare on the elf who had spoken. 'I'd rather think the wine may have addled yours. The consumption of it has weakened your arms. These are the ones to go and no others. Do as I say!'

There was some grumbling, but no one apparently dared to protest out loud anymore, for which Kate was grateful, for as much as she dreaded this journey by river, she dreaded being found out even more. Because if that happened, she would never see any daylight again and if she was certain of one thing, then it was that she had seen quite enough of that horrid dungeon for the rest of her life. She wanted her freedom back.

'Very well, very well,' the addressed elf muttered. 'But on your head be it if the king's full butter tubs and his best wine is pushed into the river for the men of Lake-town to feast on for nothing!'

'I assure you that the king will not find any of his butter or his wine missing,' Elvaethor said confidently.

_Dwarves however are another matter altogether_, Kate thought, hoping and praying that it would take a while for the elves to discover what had happened. Dori had more or less admitted to knocking out several of the guards and Kate knew that her adopted brother had a lot of physical strength. She had seen it only recently when he had used it to knock out Galas. And Dwalin did not seem like the type to take half measures either. Those guards would be well and truly out for a while. With a bit of luck it would only be when the next shift came in that their absence was noted. That could take another few hours or so. They might be very lucky.

That was if they would not get killed by barrel first. The company advisor had hardly finished the thought when her barrel was taken up, turned over and then she was rolling over the floor. Her heart was beating so loud that she could swear the elves must hear it. This kind of movement was already inducing a slight nausea, although that could be put down to nerves as well.

'Down they go!' the elves announced. That was the only warning she got. She could hear the sound of elves complaining about the weight and the sound of the river and then she was in free fall. And she was terrified. It was ridiculous, she told herself. The book stated that all of them would be all right in the end and that should have reassured her. Normally it scared her that the book was so often accurate – and she feared that, especially when it came to the ending – but now it helped her in not panicking to such an extent that she would scream.

_The Hobbit_ described the barrel escape from Bilbo's point of view and while the prospect of swimming in such an icy river, holding on to some barrel or other for dear life, was o tempting prospect at all, at the moment Kate would choose it over her current predicament. Because there was one thing Tolkien had absolutely forgotten to mention and that was how terrifying it was to be trapped in a small enclosed space in complete darkness, knowing that you were on a river with a very strong current and that you could just drown if a lot of water came into aforementioned enclosed space or you could die if the barrel crashed upon some unseen rock or other. It was hell.

Admittedly, it was a very different kind of hell than the burning forest had been, but it was hell all the same. She had plunged into the water and for a moment was afraid that she had gone below the surface, but she could still hear the elves, who had now burst out into a very Tolkien-sounding farewell song to the barrels – why did elves even have to make songs about _everything_? – very well and if she had been under water they would have sounded different.

This was a relief, if not much, because she was tossed about as the barrel itself was tossed and turned in the stream. The river was running strong and wild in these parts and for a moment Kate wondered why this transport system was even in existence. It hardly seemed like a good way to her. The way things were going it felt like she could crash and her barrel would break in pieces. But the system was still used, so most of the barrels must make it to Lake-town in one piece.

_Of course, most of them is not all of them_, that annoying voice in the back of her head commented.

Definitely the worst thing about this was the complete isolation. No matter how bad things had been, all the other trials had been endured with her friends nearby. The warg attack that had brought them to Rivendell had been horrible, but Dori and Thorin had been there and with the latter she had even exchanged something that with some imagination might pass for a joke. The stone giants had been more or less the same and that was true as well for their encounter with the goblins. They had been able to draw strength from the presence of companions. In both fights with Azog's merry band of misfits it had been the same. It had been frightening beyond belief, the last time even more so than the first, but she had not been alone and that was worth a lot.

Now there was nobody. She was trapped in here, all alone. Her companions were somewhere nearby, but she had no way of reaching them, no way of communicating with them. She could not even pinpoint where exactly they were. Frightening.

'Pull yourself together,' she growled. Saying it out loud made the fact that she was here alone a little less obvious. It was not really silent here, with the noise of the river almost deafening her, but it was good to hear a voice, even if it was just her own. Kate did not know why, but it helped. 'One day. You need to hold out one day. You can do that. You've seen much, much worse.'

And that was true, even if that was not a truly happy thought either. And Kate did find that it went better eventually. This was not a thing one would ever be able to get used to and she was sure she would come out with more than one bruise, maybe even a concussion after she had bumped her head against the lid after a rather unexpected series of turning over and over again mid-stream. Bilbo had provided her with a lot of straw that was supposed to keep that from happening, but Kate had known in advance that it would be no good.

Strangely enough that was not the worst thing. After a while the stream quietened down a bit and she was not tossed about as much as previously had been the case. What she needed to worry about now was something else entirely. By her reckoning it had been early in the evening that she had been let out of the cell she had shared with Thorin and they had been pushed in the water about an hour or two after that, counting the journey out of the dungeons, the trip to the armoury and the time it had taken them to get into the barrels. In here it was impossible to measure time, but Kate reckoned that a good few hours must have passed since then.

The best indicator in this conclusion was the state of her bladder. She had not relieved herself since before she had gone to sleep in that blasted cell, she realised. Of course it had been the last thing on her mind when Dori and Bilbo came to free them and the same could be said for their escape and those first hellish hours in the river. The adrenaline had kept those concerns safely stored away in the back of her mind.

But now the adrenaline had gone and the more trivial matters presented themselves to the company advisor. The hunger and thirst were doable for the moment. And they paled in comparison with the absolute and very embarrassing need to empty her bladder, the sooner the better. That was yet another thing Tolkien had never written a thing about in this book and now she herself was stuck in that barrel, it seemed like a grave error.

'Shit,' she muttered under her breath. 'Shit, shit, shit!' Why were it always those thing nobody ever thought about that proved to be of the most hinder? It had been the same with her monthlies early on – although the elvish painkiller and the supplies she had gotten from them had ensured she had not needed to bring that matter to her companions' attention since, and thank goodness for that – and the blisters on her feet after running through Goblin-town for what felt like hours on end. None of that stuff was ever mentioned in novels and by now Kate seriously started to wonder why. If authors aimed for realism, their heroes should really be bothered by these things as well.

But she was not going to embarrass herself by relieving herself in this barrel. She did have some dignity and she had not wet the bed since she was four. If it was up to her she would not be reviving that bad habit now.

Her resolve lasted for about an hour longer. The river was still flowing swiftly and Kate still found herself frequently being tossed about as if she weighed no more than a tree's leave that had been set adrift on the wide ocean, but strangely enough she could no longer be bothered by that now that she had a far more pressing concern. Who'd have thought that this was the biggest problem one could experience on such an escape? It was as unexpected as it was embarrassing.

They were pushed now into what Kate suspected were shallower waters. She could hear the shouts of men as they went about their work. Momentarily the fear of discovery made the bladder-problem take a backseat, but her concern was unnecessary. It would seem that the people tasked with binding the barrels together would like nothing better than going to bed or grabbing a nice drink before going to bed and they made swift work of their job. Things might be different in the morning, but for now at least they were safe, leaving her mind and body far too much time to remind her of that bigger problem.

'Hello?' She was distracted by the voice of the burglar, who was calling out in a hushed voice. 'Are you there?'

It seemed not a smart thing to be doing in here, because who knows who was watching, but it was actually a relief to hear another voice, and a friendly voice at that. 'Here!' she called back, knocking on the barrel to indicate which one she was in.

'Kate?' Bilbo sounded nearer by now, and a bit hesitant too.

No, Bombur, what'd you think? Kate thought sarcastically. 'Yes, it's me.' Bilbo had risked a lot for all of them and his journey could not have been pleasant at all. It would be the Right Thing to be a little bit nice to him. They owed it to him they got out in the first place. 'You all right?'

'I have b-b-been bet-t-t-ter.' A violent shiver interfered with his words. 'How are you?'

Kate grimaced, something the hobbit fortunately could not see. 'Can you get me out of here for a few minutes?' She tried and failed not to sound pleading.

'Kate, that's dangerous!' the hobbit whispered forcefully. 'I know it's cramped in there.' _No, you have absolutely no idea how bloody cramped it is in here. _'But we can't risk it.'

'It's not that,' the advisor informed him. 'It's my bladder.' For some reason it was a whole lot less embarrassing to discuss this when she could not see the person she confessed this to. 'Bilbo, just a minute?' Oh yes, she was definitely pleading now, although she hated that very notion with a passion.

'There's one man on watch duty,' the burglar informed her. He did sound uncomfortable. The lack of sight did nothing to help him, it would seem. 'He'd see. You… you ehm… You need to do it in there.' The embarrassment was too obvious to miss now. 'I need to go and find out about the others.' Kate could hear the sound of splashes as he moved away.

And the advisor thought she might just die of shame. The point was that there was wisdom in Bilbo's words. There was still a long way ahead before they reached Lake-town and there was just no way she could delay the inevitable that long. And so she closed her eyes, prayed to God that no one would ever find out about this and then followed Bilbo's advice.

**Thorin**

Thorin had slept uncomfortably for a great many times during his life. It was the natural result of living so many years in exile. The dwarf had slept under the stars on floors that made his back and neck hurt, in shacks, in haystacks, small holes in the ground – that were nothing like the cosy hobbit-hole that was Mr Baggins's residence – and on mattresses that were so thin that they did absolutely nothing to mask the fact that underneath was a very hard and very cold floor. Exile meant that he had grown used to discomfort. He knew how to deal with it and could sleep despite the fact that things were so bad.

He only wished the same could be said about his current sleeping arrangement. Barrels were promptly promoted to the first place on the list of most uncomfortable sleeping places. The dwarf king had obtained a rather large barrel with quite a bit of straw, but the fact remained that those barrels had never been intended to be used to transport any living beings in. And dwarves may not be the largest creatures to walk this earth, but the barrels still were rather cramped and Thorin's muscles ached, protesting against the very notion of being forced into the same position for hours and hours on end.

At first it had not been too bad. And he had been tossed and turned too much in the river too much to pay any attention to that kind of discomfort. He was battered and bruised and the injuries were starting to seriously bother him. He would even admit, if only to himself, that he had been afraid that he would drown more than once.

But so far everything had gone exactly according to plan, the way the book had led him to believe things were supposed to go. It was a strange thing to see for himself how events followed that accursed book of Kate's while said events were still unfolding. Thorin prided himself on having a good memory and he could have sworn that some of the things that the elves had said before they were pushed out of the door had been exactly the same as in that book. In a way it was unnerving.

They had bumped down the river until they had come to this place, where they, according to the book, would wait for the remainder of the night until they were transported to Esgaroth. Until then, he would have to remain quiet. These men were still elves and if they discovered their cargo, they would send them straight back to where they came from. And Thorin Oakenshield was not about to let that happen while he still lived and breathed.

Mr Baggins had come to him, asking if he was still all right and had then left again, only to report that all the members of his company were accounted for. Thorin had demanded to know and although the hobbit had not felt very much like complying with that request, he had done it all the same.

It put Thorin at ease enough to try and rest while he could. It was not a comfortable position, but he knew enough of life on the road to know that he needed to rest when he could, because only Mahal knew when he would have the chance again. And he would not be any help to anyone if he kept himself awake, wondering about the others. No one would benefit from that and so he all but forced himself to sleep.

He woke up to the feeling of aching muscles and the sound of shouting men. For a moment he feared that they had been discovered and that their plan had failed, but then he listened closer and he realised that the elves were binding the barrels together now, making a raft of it that they could easily steer down the river.

'It's not right,' an elf near Thorin's barrel muttered. 'This is a heavy load! Look at some of these. They are never empty; they float too deep.'

Thorin felt that someone softly kicked his barrel to indicate which one floated too deep. The dwarf could feel his heart pounding in his ears. If the elves did suspect something was amiss, they might open the casks to see what was in them and that would be the end of their daring escape. And while he was a warrior and knew how to defend himself, he was not in the ideal position to attack or to defend. He had a small hunting knife at hand. It had been taken from him when they had first been taken, but he had stolen it back last night. It was small and fitted in his boot. It was also the only weapon small enough that he could wield from his current position. He did not think it would be much use against the elves, though. It did not mean he was not prepared to fight for his life and his freedom should the situation ask for it.

But they were trying to pass unnoticed and so he controlled his breathing and tried to lie as still as he possibly could while the elf prodded his hiding place.

'If they had come ashore in daylight, we might have had a look inside,' another elf said.

'I still think we should open them now,' the first elf, the suspicious one, insisted. 'The king won't be pleased if they have disposed of the empty casks and sent the full ones to Esgaroth for its inhabitants to feast from.'

This was wrong, Thorin knew. He could not for the life of him remember if this had happened in Kate's book as well, but he somehow seriously doubted it. The elves in the book were not that insistent about opening the barrels to see what was in them.

But he also knew how foolish it was to rely solely on that book. He had heard Kate complain about it more than enough to know that it was not always truthful, that the real events did as they pleased most of the time and that there was no guarantee at all that they would unfold as the events in the book. They did unfold like those predicted events often enough, but not always. Thorin had studied _The Hobbit_ himself and knew that she was right. Normally he was grateful for it, because those loopholes could just prove his salvation, but it could also mean that his quest would fail, because some nosy elves could not stop themselves from checking their cargo.

'No time for that now!' the second elf all but snapped – because elves, except Galas, just did not snap – impatiently. 'The day is wearing on and we need to go.'

His companion muttered something that might be consent, but he could not be really sure. He did catch the last words, though. 'On your head be it.'

'That is fine by me,' the other one said, wholly unconcerned. Thorin did not think he could keep up that attitude when he eventually found out that his load had been more than empty barrels and accidentally disposed apples and butter. 'Shove off!' he then called to someone else.

Thorin exhaled in relief. He did not know how close he had been to being discovered, but he could tell that it had been very close, closer than he was comfortable with. And if it had come to that, then he would not have been able to do anything about it. It was frightening. He was not used to sitting and waiting while others decided his fate. And Thorin's fate was, for the moment at least, in the hands of a hobbit with a magic ring. Frightening that was in a way. Thorin could not even get out of this cask himself. He was not in the right position to push the lid away, because he could not lift his arms over his head and push. He truly was trapped this time.

But the elves seemed to have forgotten about their too deep floating load altogether now. They were chatting, gossiping and laughing as they steered the barrel-raft downriver. Thorin paid attention for a while, to find out if there was anything useful to be learned. It could well be that news of their escape had already reached the place where the barrels had been gathered, if the messenger travelled fast on a good horse. If that was the case, they would need to be very careful.

But Thorin imagined that if that news had reached these two elves already, they would not be gossiping about the pretty elf maidens of the court or singing ridiculous songs about their beauty. The news of dwarves escaping from a dungeon that no one else had ever escaped from, that would be the news of the day and these two did not seem concerned with that.

He stopped listening to them then, instead directing his thoughts elsewhere. Their escape would be discovered by now. Thorin imagined it had been found out hours ago. He wondered what Thranduil would do. The elf king would know immediately in which direction he would have run, would likely send men after him to stop him from going anywhere near the Mountain.

The thing was that he was not entirely sure how willing the men of Esgaroth were to obey Thranduil. He was not someone to be trifled with and his fear of Smaug would make him all the more determined to get his prisoners back. With the elves being good trade partners of the town, the people there might just be inclined to listen.

On the other hand they had been hoping for the return of the King under the Mountain. They might not be as willing to give that hope up as Thranduil might like. In this case, again, he was not entirely sure how the real events and the book events were linked. It was sometimes just too easy for the real events to do as they chose, not heeding the what-was-supposed-to-be element of it all.

It was dark in this barrel and there was water coming through as well. It wasn't much, not nearly enough to get him into danger of sinking and drowning, but more than enough to leak through the straw and make him feel cold and wet. The summer had mostly gone now and the chill was already back in the air. This autumn might be a cold one and the winter would probably come early. Thorin remembered several years in his youth that it had been like that. Those would not be the ideal conditions to complete this quest, but he had not come so far to turn back now.

But he feared the coming events as well. At Beorn's house he accepted Kate's oath to stand guard over his mental health and then had banished the matter from his mind. There was a lot more that needed his attention and Mirkwood was the first and foremost of those matters. From dawn till dusk his mind had been on the forest, on finding ways to get through it without any problems. Of course the without problems part of his plan had not quite worked out, but he had spent a lot of his time thinking about how to get his company out of it on the east side.

And now that task was more or less done. Mirkwood need not bother his thoughts for much longer and then they would need to make those last miles to the Mountain. And then he would have the gold lust to fear. The very thought made his stomach twist in knots. He was not even sure how much one person could do against an illness of the mind. Thorin remembered his grandfather all too well. Whenever someone as much as hinted at him not being in his right mind, he had slapped them down and those people had not dared to protest any further, fearing the king's wrath.

But Kate was not like that. She would probably tell him to stop being such a pig-headed buffoon and whack him over the head to get him to listen. Something about that was infinitely reassuring and Thorin found he needed that reassurance, because he feared the gold lust more than anything else in the world, more even than the dragon he would surely have to fight. But he could not leave now and abandon the quest. His people needed their home back and even if they were sceptical about the success of his quest – Thorin had heard it being compared with Thrór's attempt to retake Khazad-Dûm – he owed it to them to try.

His thoughts wandered to Kate now. It was not something Thorin wanted to spend time thinking about, but he was trapped in a barrel now, dependent on others to get him where he needed to be. His thoughts were the only thing he had for company and they were taking on a life of their own.

Kate was confusing at the moment, a person he did not know what to do with, which was the very reason why he did not want to think about her for the moment. He needed to be focused on the quest, but his mind increasingly disobeyed him and relived memories of nights with her sleeping in his lap, in his arms – even if it had only been an act – and more than once the kiss as well.

The advisor was becoming a distraction, more so every day. But he could not leave her behind in Esgaroth, as part of him longed to do, to be rid of the one thing that kept his mind from what he needed to be focusing on, because he needed her. And she had made an oath to protect his mental health, for which she needed to be present in person. She would tag along anyway.

And a far too large part of the dwarf was glad of the need for her presence. He had come to the conclusion some time ago that telling himself that he did not feel a thing for the woman from the other world would not be fooling anyone, not even himself. There was something between them, something Thorin feared was very much one-sided. Kate had voiced her opinion about the two of them together more than once. She saw him as a friend, but not as something more than that.

And how he wished that was the truth. Because what Thorin felt for the advisor was, to phrase it with Thranduil's words, unheard of. It did not happen. Marriages between two races did not happen, especially not when dwarves were involved. Thorin knew his history and knew of two examples of marriages between elves and men, back in the First Age, but dwarves had never married someone of another race. They kept to their own, as it was meant to be.

And maybe he would never have thought about falling for a human woman when he had not been more or less forced together with her, thanks to Gandalf and his cursed meddling. Oh, the wizard had not brought her here to mess up Thorin's feelings – even if he would probably be overjoyed to learn of it, knowing the old man – that was what she had done all the same and now things had escalated to such an extent that it could no longer be put down to a simple friendship. This was more, stronger. And it had become utterly impossible to ignore, especially after that kiss in the dungeon.

And that was why he needed to talk to her as soon as he found the time to do so. Things had become awkward between them, to a point that Kate hardly dared to look at him. And that could not continue. This needed to be out in the open.

Thorin remembered that Dori had more or less ordered him to do right by Kate, before they had entered the dreary place that Mirkwood was. And if he was to do right by her, he needed to speak out. It made him almost more nervous than the prospect of having to fight a dragon, but it needed to be done. She would reject his attention, as she should, but if he wanted to prevent Dori from going after him to give him what he had privately dubbed the Galas-treatment, then he needed to do it. It was the right thing to do and maybe her rejection would give him closure in a way. Then he could at least let it go and concentrate on the mission that needed doing.

He had just reached that conclusion when he noticed that the barrels had come to a halt. Time was impossible to measure in here, but he suspected that this meant they had arrived at their destination. Thorin would be glad of it, because his muscles were aching more than he had ever felt before. He wanted out of this place. He had already spent far too much time alone with his thoughts and they did not make for very pleasant company. And it was dark as well. It reminded Thorin all too much of the nights of Mirkwood. This dark was quite similar. It felt equally restricting, weighing down heavily on him. He could hear well enough, but his sight was denied to him.

'Well met!' the elves called out to someone Thorin could not see.

Voices further away responded, but the dwarf could not make out the words. They were too far off and the wood of the cask did not do anything to help him either. He did assume that it was an invitation to come and join them or something else very much like that, because he could feel the elves starting to move. They had been right on top of him for most of the journey, but the weight now disappeared from the barrel. He could feel that he did not float as deeply as he had before now that they disappeared.

He heard voices for a while, but after some time they died away and then only the sound left was the sound of gentle waves against the barrels. The water was still in these parts and Thorin did remember something about there being a quiet bay near the town and he guessed that was where they were now. In this regard it did help to have a book. He was not completely clueless. He knew what was going on.

It was only then that he realised that the escape had been successful. They had made it out of the dungeons and had then managed to outwit several other elves. He was free again and even if the men of Esgaroth decided to send him back, he could fight again. That had been denied to him before and he was not in a hurry to be in such a situation anytime soon again.

He was pondering this when he became aware that someone was cutting the ropes that tied his barrel to that of the others. For a moment his heart nearly stopped, but then he remembered that the burglar would do this once men and elves had left. He was close to being freed and that was not an excessive luxury now.

Thorin could hear the hobbit's laboured breathing, interrupted every now and then by a loud sneeze. Mr Baggins must have caught a cold while he had been lying in the icy river. The dwarf was not too surprised. If the little water that had leaked into his cask was already giving him cold shivers, it had to be worse for Bilbo, who had not had straw to keep the worst away.

The barrel was rolled onto the shore and came to a halt a little distance away from the water. Then there was some struggling with the lid before the thing suddenly gave way and the bright light of day chased away the darkness.

Thorin had to blink a few times to let his eyes adjust to the sudden influx of light, but then he found himself staring at a very miserable looking hobbit. But the burglar's predicament had to take a backseat for a while. For now the dwarf just felt triumphant. They had done it. They were free again.

* * *

From Kate's notes: _I'll never ever do this again. I have no idea what Tolkien was even thinking when he wrote this, but I am seriously starting to doubt his sanity._

* * *

**Chapter 50 already. I have no idea when this story became so huge. And now I had them spend a whole chapter in barrels. I have seriously no clue as to how that even happened, but it did. **

**Next update will not be this Sunday, but the Sunday after that because I'm going away with friends for a week this Friday and I most likely won't have access to internet then. Probably just as well, because I fear I might be coming down with a mild case of the dreaded writer's block, so hopefully the holiday will help with that.**

**Anyway, until the next time and reviews for this would be lovely. I really like to hear what you think, as always.**


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